With You Always
by Mosie1213
Summary: Sequel to Now and Forever. Four years later and Brooke is still holding onto Lucas' memory. But she must learn to let him go to truly move on Haley and Nathan stop communicating when Haley has a secret she's too afraid to share with him Peyton and HJake m
1. Chapter 1: Graduation

**A One Tree Hill Reunion**

By Maureen M. Sullivan

"Lucas, wait! Lucas!" Brooke said as Lucas dragged her down the hall of Tree Hill High School. "Where are we going? We're going to be late for graduation."

_"No we won't." Lucas disagreed. "This will only take a few minutes."_

_"What will?"" Brooke asked as Lucas opened the door to an empty classroom and pulled her inside. "Lucas, what—_

_Lucas interrupted her with a kiss. Brooke kissed him back, but then stopped to ask, "Wait, did you bring in here just so we could make out?"_

_Lucas smiled and nodded his head, "Yep."_

Brooke stared at him seriously only for a moment before she smiled and said, "Works for me."

They continued to make out as they moved over to an empty, wide teacher's desk while still kissing. Brooke pushed Lucas away again.

"Should we be doing this in here?" She asked as Lucas wiped his lips. "Not that I don't want to, believe me, I am so totally hot for you right now, but you do remember the last time we snuck into an empty classroom to make out, right?"

"Oh yeah." Lucas smiled. "That was great."

Brooke smacked him playfully. "We got like two weeks detention because of that."

"Yeah, but it was worth it, don't you think? Lucas moved some of Brooke's hair behind her ear. "And besides, everyone is outside getting ready for the ceremony. No one will catch us, and even if they did, it's not like they could give us detention. We're graduating today."

"Good point."

"Don't worry. We're not going to get caught."

But just as he leaned in to kiss her again, the door opened and Brooke and Lucas looked over and saw Haley, Nathan, Peyton, Jake, and Mouth all staring at them.

"Well," Jake said smiling, "It looks like we found them."

"Hey guys." Brooke said as she hopped off the desk she'd been sitting on.

"You guys never give it up, do you?" Haley asked.

"Yeah." Peyton joined in, "Didn't you two learn your lesson the last time?"

"I guess not." Lucas replied before kissing Brooke again.

"Okay guys, break it up." Nathan said.

""Yeah, we're going to be late for graduation." Mouth added before they all left the building for their graduation ceremony outside.

After about an hour and 45 minutes of the principal's speech, the guest speaker, the valedictorian (which had been Mouth) and the handing out of diplomas, the Tree Hill High graduation ceremony was almost through. All that was left was the closing remarks.

"Before the ceremony comes to a close," the principal spoke again, "There are a few more things I would like to say. I have been a part of Tree Hill High School for several years and have therefore seen many unique classes had a number of bright young minds within it.

"But out of all the classes I've watched pass through here, I've never met a brighter group of students. And as sad as I am to see them leave here, I know that their time here was well spent and their education well earned. I know that each and every one of these remarkable individuals has a great future waiting for them. So I advise you all to take every possible opportunity that comes your way because you never know how it may change your life.

"It has been wonderful teaching you all and I offer you my congratulations and best wishes as you continue your education, your careers and your lives. Make the most of what you have and don't take anything for granted. Now I'm sure you're all ready to throw up your hats and get the heck out of here, so I'll stop droning on and let you get to your favorite part of the ceremony, the end."

The crowd chuckled and the principal continued, "So students, if you will all please stand and let your families get one more look at you with your classmates as high school students, we can finally bring your high school career to an end."

The students all stood in front of the stage. Lucas, Brooke, Nathan, Haley, Peyton, Jake, and Mouth all stood together, ready to throw up their hats.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the principal continued, "family and friends, here they are, the graduating class of 2006. Congratulations everyone, you did it!"

As soon as congratulations were uttered, the large group of students threw up their hats and the crows applauded. And in the background, some sort of alarm was going off and getting louder and louder…

Brooke lifted her head from her pillow and hit the snooze button on her alarm. She closed her eyes again, but a few minutes later, a short, blue eyed little girl with shoulder length brown hair wearing purple, silky pajamas with butterflies on them and wearing matching slippers, came running into the bedroom and over to Brooke's bed. She leaned in closely to her mother's face.

"Mommy?" She whispered.

Even though she could hear her daughter, Brooke did not answer. So Lilly ran to the foot of the bed, climbed on to the oak trunk sitting in front and crawled onto the bed and over to Brooke's back side.

"Mommy?" She whispered again in her mother's ear. "Are you awake?"

Brooke smiled. She couldn't help but smile. Her daughter had the cutest little girl voice. And she did this every morning since she had reached three years old and had learned to climb out of her crib. This routine of Lilly coming in to wake her up, Brooke looked forward to every morning when she hit that snooze button.

"Come on, Mommy. I know you're awake." Lilly said just before the alarm went off again. Lilly leaned over and turned it off. Before she could return to her spot, however, Brooke started tickling her stomach, making Lilly giggle hard and Brooke sat up while she tickled.

"Stop, Momma, stop!" Lilly giggled. "That tickles. Stop, Momma, please!"

Brooke stopped tickling Lilly and lifted her onto her lap.

"Finally you waked up, Mommy. I been waitn' for you to."

"I'm sorry, sweetie." Brooke said. "I was dreaming."

"About what?"

"About your daddy, mostly."

"Do you have lots of dreams about my daddy?"

"Yeah, we meet each other in my dreams and we talk."

"What do you talk about?" Lilly asked inquisitively.

"We talk about lots of things, like where we are, where we've been, or our friends, or you even."

"You talk about me?"

"Are you kidding?" Brooke hugged her daughter. "You are our favorite subject."

"That's 'cause I'm so cute!"

Brooke laughed and kissed Lilly's cheek. "Yes, you are."

"So what are we gonna do today, Mommy?"

"Well, we have a lot to do now that we are home from California. First thing we need to do is stop by my store and let my workers know I'm back. Then we are going to meet everyone at grandma's café. And after lunch, we are going to go shopping with your aunts."

"Yay!" Lilly threw her fists into the air and climbed off the bed. "I'm gonna go get dressed."

"Wait, do you want me to help you pick out your clothes?"

Lilly turned around and said, "Mommy, I am almost five now. I can pick out my clothes. I totally know what's cute."

Brooke smiled as Lilly went running for her bedroom next door. She climbed out of bed, walked over to her dresser and stood in front of the mirror. She watched herself yawn before looking down at a picture on her dresser. She picked up the picture of Lilly in white tights, a pink leotard, and a pink tutu; smiling the same smile Brooke always smiled.

Then Brooke spoke, "You were right, Lucas. She's the perfect mix of both of us. She's caring and compassionate and loves reading like you, and she's cheerful and stubborn and loves shopping like me."

Brooke thought about her late husband for a minute before Lilly's voice interrupted.

"Mommy! I need your help!"

Brooke laughed and set the frame back on the dresser before leaving her bedroom for her daughter's.


	2. Chapter 2: Naley & Jeyton Families

Nathan rolled over in bed and found Haley smiling at him. He smiled back at her and said, "Good morning."

"Good morning." Haley replied before she kissed her husband. Their kiss lasted a few minutes.

When they were finished, Nathan smiled again and said, "Wow. That was one hell of a good morning kiss."

"Well, thanks. You praised me for it in my dream last night too,"

"Really? It must've been a good dream then, huh?"

"Hmm…it sure was. Maybe I should enlighten you?"

"Maybe you should."

Haley leaned on top of Nathan and started kissing him again. They giggled and kissed a few more minutes before there was a knock on their bedroom door. Nathan and Haley both stopped kissing and looked over at the door.

""Boys are awake." Haley said. "It's time to get up."

"No wait." Nathan said as he pulled her back from trying to go get off the bed. "Maybe if we're quiet they'll go away."

"No, Nathan, I—

He interrupted by kissing her lips.

"Mom…" a little boy called from outside the door. "We know you're awake. We can hear you."

"Yeah, we can hear you." A smaller boy's voice repeated. "You are busted."

"Oh no, Haley," Nathan said smiling. "We're busted."

Haley laughed and smacked him playfully and a toddler boy's voice spoke on the other side of the door.

"Ma, Da, open up!" He smacked his hand on the door.

"Come in, boys." Haley said.

Andrew turned the knob and ran into the bedroom and jumped onto the bed. Haley saw her other two son's enter and said, "Hey—Andrew did you get Cooper out of his crib again?"

"Yeah. He was yelling at me too and I was in the living room."

"Please, don't do that anymore, honey." Haley said as she lifted the middle boy, James onto the bed, then the youngest Cooper. "You could've hurt yourself or your brother."

"Sorry, Mom." Andrew replied.

"So what are you guys doing up so early on a Saturday?' Nathan asked. "You just started summer vacation. Don't you want to go back to bed and sleep in?"

"Nah, not today." Seven-year-old Andrew replied. "I can sleep in all summer. You said we could play basketball today."

"My tummy woke me up." James said, looking over at Haley from between Nathan and Haley. Two – year-old Cooper Lee Scoot sat in Haley's lap.

"It did?" Haley said, reaching over and tickling her three-year-old's stomach. "Do you want some breakfast?"

James nodded his head and Andrew asked, "Mom, can we have pancakes for breakfast please?"

"Sure." Haley said as she climbed out of bed and helped James off.

"Do you want to help me?"

"Yeah!" James replied excitedly.

Haley lifted Cooper from the bed and said, "Whoa, bud. You're getting heavy. Pretty soon, you'll be too big for mommy to carry you."

"Me big boy." Cooper said.

Haley chuckled as she carried her youngest son from the bedroom. James followed behind her, still carrying his brown stuffed dog.

"So are we gonna play basketball, Dad?" Andrew asked as Nathan pulled sweats on over his boxers.

"Well, I have to work later today, but we can go play while your mom makes breakfast, if you want."

"Okay, cool."

Andrew hopped off the bed and said, "I'll go get dressed."

He left the bedroom and as soon as he had his sweatshirt over his head, Nathan left too.

Jake walked down the hall towards the master bedroom holding two coffee mugs, one filled with coffee and other just milk. He reached the bedroom and pushed the door open with his boot. Peyton was just sitting up in their bed as he entered.

"Good morning gorgeous." He said as he set his coffee on the nightstand next to his side of the bed.

"Gorgeous?" Peyton replied as she took the milk from her husband. "I'm more than a few pounds over from gorgeous. I look like a blimp."

Jake chuckled, "No you don't. You are insanely beautiful."

He sat between his nightstand and Peyton and kissed her.

"So are you feeling better?" He asked when their lips separated.

"Yeah." Peyton replied, rubbing her pregnant stomach. "What time is it?"

"Almost 11:30. I guess you were pretty tired."

"Yeah, I was. Is Emma awake yet?"

"Yeah, Jenny is getting her dressed."

"Okay, well I should get up and get moving." Peyton said as she set her mug down on her nightstand. "Brooke is back from California and I'm supposed to meet her and Haley and the kids at Karen's in awhile. But I can't seem to push myself to get up. I feel like staying in bed all day. It's weird, I don't remember feeling this lazy and pregnant with Emma."

"Well all pregnancies are different, right? Just look at it this way," Jake said, moving his hand to her stomach. "You've only got a few months of being pregnant left before we finally get to meet him or her."

"That will be wonderful. But then we'll both be tired a lot because we'll have a newborn, a toddler and an almost teenager with a spontaneous attitude."

"Sure, but we'll handle this new baby and Emma together and Jenny loves playing with her sister and she's thrilled about the new baby, so she'll help too. And that spontaneous attitude she has is most often only with me."

"Well if you were home more to spend time with her…"

"All right." Jake sighed. "Let's not start this again. I'm sorry I'm working so much. I'll be home more when I have less to do."

"Jake, you keep saying that. You've been working almost every day since you found out about this promotion opportunity. So you'd better have less to do soon because in about three months we'll have a whole lot to do."

"I'll try. I promise." Jake leaned in to kiss his wife. Before they were finished, Jenny walked through their open bedroom door carrying a short, blond headed toddler dressed in a blue denim skirt and a pink tank top.

"Okay, kids in the room." Jenny said and her parents stopped kissing at once. "Don't you think you two do that enough? You'd better stop Dad before mom ends up pregnant with twins."

Peyton and Jake both laughed at Jenny's comment as she sat at their feet on the bed.

"Momma, Dada." Emma called, reaching for Peyton.

"Hey Em." Peyton said, smiling as she reached over and took her youngest daughter from her oldest and kissing the toddler's cheek.

"So I take it you're feeling better, Mom?"

"I am." Peyton responded confidently to Jenny while Jake blew raspberries on Emma's tummy, making her giggle. "In fact, Brooke and Lilly are home and I am going to meet them and Haley and the kids for lunch at Karen's and then we're going shopping. I'm taking Emma. Do you want to come to?"

"Yeah, definitely. It's been forever since I saw Brooke and Lilly. Are you coming too, Dad?"

"I wish I could honey," Jake replied as he stood up with Emma in his arms. "But I have to go to work."

Peyton shot him a surprised look as she was climbing out of bed. Hadn't they just talked about his working so much?

"You have to work today?" Jenny said disappointedly. "On Saturday? You've been working all week, Dad. Aren't you supposed to have a break?"

Jake glanced at Peyton, who was about to enter the bathroom, but she said nothing. He looked back at his daughter and replied, "I'm sorry, Jenny. I have to go to work today because we're starting a new project, but I'll only be gone for a few hours and I promise I'll—

"No it's okay, Dad."

Jake sighed as he sat down next to Jenny with Emma in his lap.

"Look Jenny bean, I know I've been working a lot lately, but it's only because I'm working towards a promotion I'm up for. And if I get the promotion, I'll be getting more money."

"I know, Dad. You told mom and me this when you said you'd be working more. I just thought that since mom is having another baby soon and my summer vacation starting, you'd want to be home more to spend time with all of us. I miss you and I'm pretty sure mom and Emma miss you too."

"I miss you guys too, Angel. And I will be home more soon. I love you so much, Jenny bean. You know that right?"

"Yeah, I know." Jenny said as she cracked a smile. "I love you too, Daddy."

She hugged him and Jake kissed her on her light brown head. Once Jenny let go of the hug, Jake grabbed his keys and cell phone from the nightstand.

"I should probably get going now." He said as he stood up and Peyton reentered the bedroom, now fully dressed with her hair up in a messy bun.

"I have to go honey." Jake said as he walked over and pecked Peyton's lips. "Be careful when you go out today, but have fun, here, can you take her?"

Peyton took Emma from Jake, but once she had left Jake's arms, Emma reached out for him and cried.

"Want Dada." She whined.

"Daddy has to go to work, sweetie." Jake said before kissing her cheek. "I'll be back later, princess. I love you."

Emma cried harder, still holding her arms out for Jake.

"Want Dada. Dada no buh bye."

Peyton bounced Emma up and down, trying to soothe her. Jenny stood up."

"Mom, want me to take her?" She offered her arms and Peyton handed Emma to her.

"Shh…it's okay, sis." Jenny said as she left the bedroom with Emma.

Jake stared at the door even after they'd gone.

"I've never seen her like that before." He said, looking back at Peyton. "Does she get like that when you leave her at daycare?"

"Sometimes, but not often and never that much. Listen to her, she's still screaming."

"I feel so bad for leaving now."

"So don't leave. Don't go to work today. Take a few days off and spend time with us."

"I want to Peyton, believe me, especially for Emma. But the boss says everyone on the crew has to be at the new site today."

Peyton nodded her head disappointedly. "Fine. Then you'd better go or you'll be late."

Jake sighed, "Peyton—

"Jake." Peyton interrupted. "Just go."

He sighed again before kissing her head then touching her stomach. "I love you…all of you."

"I love you too." Peyton replied before kissing Jake's lips and hugging him.

Jake smiled. "I'll see you tonight."

He left the bedroom and Peyton watched him walk straight down the hall, turn the corner and then heard the front door open and close. A minute later, Jenny's bedroom door opened and Jenny came back into Peyton's room with her sister in her arms.

"She wants you." She said and Peyton took Emma. Emma laid her head on Peyton's shoulder and Peyton rubbed her back.

"I'm gonna go get ready to go." Jenny said and she turned to leave the room but turned back to say, "Mom? It'll be different once the new baby gets here, won't it? Dad will be home more?"

Peyton replied, "Yeah, it'll be different. Your dad just wants to get as much work done as he can before the baby comes."

"He works too much, I think. I wish he would just work at home so he could be with us. I wish he were home more."

Jenny continued to her bedroom and Peyton whispered to herself, "Me too."


	3. Chapter 3: Welcome Home

The café bell chimed and Keith entered. He looked around for his wife and saw her pushing together a few tables. He walked over to her.

"Hey." He said.

Karen looked up and smiled when she saw him.

"Hi." She said happily. "What are you doing here? I thought you had to pack."

"I'm done packing. I wanted to see you before I left for Charlotte."

"I thought you weren't leaving until tonight."

"I wasn't going to, but it's supposed to storm tonight and I don't want to drive in it. And I absolutely have to get to Charlotte this weekend to fix whatever the problem is down at the garage. But I promise, I'll be back by Monday night."

"Well okay." Karen sighed. "But I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too." Keith said smiling before leaning in to kiss her. A little girl called out to them from the front door as they finished their kiss.

"Grams! Gramps!"

They both looked over and saw Lilly running at them and Brooke walking to them. Lilly jumped into Keith's arms, her pigtails bouncing at the back of her head.

"Hey silly Lilly!" Keith said, smiling. "Long time no see."

"We missed you." Karen said as she pulled away from a hug with Brooke.

"Well we both missed you guys too." Brooke replied. "Didn't we Lil?"

"Yep, we was gone for a long time."

"Yes. It was a long month away." Brooke sighed a sigh of relief. "And I am so glad to be home."

"How's your dad doing?" Keith asked as he passed Lilly to Karen.

"Better. He had a massive heart attack and the doctor said he was extremely lucky to have survived it. The doctor said my dad needs an extreme lifestyle change. So I stayed to help him out and help my mom a little too."

"I'm glad he's okay." Keith said. "And I'm glad you guys are back, but I'd better get going. I have to go down to Charlotte for a few days."

Keith kissed Karen's lips and then said, "I'll call you when I get there."

"Okay, drive careful." Karen replied. "I love you."

"Bye gramps!"

Keith waved to them as he left the café.

"So did you have in California, miss Lilly?" Karen asked.

"Yes." Lilly replied. "We helped grandma take care of grandpa and we did fun stuff too. I went swimmin' a lot every day and nana took me and momma shopping!"

"She did?" Karen said enthusiastically with a smile before looking at Brooke. "Sounds like she loved having you both there so long."

"Yeah." Brooke replied. "That's actually why we stayed longer. My mom really wanted to spend time with us."

"Wow."

Brooke nodded her head. She glanced out the window and saw Peyton's black Eclipse pull up in front of the building.

"Oh, Peyton's here!" She said excitedly and Karen and Lilly turned their heads towards the window.

"Come on Lilly." Brooke said. "Let's go meet them outside."

Karen put Lilly down and Lilly and Brooke went outside to greet Peyton. Peyton smiled widely when she saw Brooke and Lilly come out and she climbed out of her car as quickly as she could. Brooke ran over to hug her.

"Oh my gosh, I missed you so much!" Brooke said.

"Ditto." Peyton replied. "Long time no see."

"Totally." Brooke said as they let go of each other. " Oh, look how big you got while we were gone."

"Thanks." Peyton said sarcastically before looking down at Lilly. "Hey girlie. Do I get a hug?"

Lilly smiled and hugged Peyton. Jenny walked around the car, smiling and carrying Emma.

"Hey Jenny." Brooke said as she hugged her. "Hey there, Emma."

Emma smiled and reached out for Brooke. Brooke took her from Jenny and Jenny hugged Lilly.

"Wow Emma," Brooke said. "You sure got big too. You look just like your momma too. She's growing so fast Peyton."

"Don't I know it? And she won't even be two for another six months."

"I love how she has these adorable little blond ringlets."

"I know. Jake loves her hair and her eyes. He says she's the mini me."

"Where is Jake?" Brooke wondered.

"He had to work." Peyton replied sullenly. Brooke stared at her friend. She sensed something was wrong, but before she could try and determine what was bothering Peyton, Lilly interrupted.

"Mommy, look! Aunt Haley is here!"

Everyone looked over at the silver Dodge min van that had just pulled into an empty space. Peyton took Emma from Brooke. Haley climbed out of her car and ran over to hug Brooke wile Jenny and Lilly went over to the van to see Haley's kids.

"Hey sister-in-law!" Haley said as she hugged Brooke. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." Brooke replied, smiling. "Where's Nathan?"

"He had to work for a little while, but he said he'll stop by to see you and Lilly tonight. Speaking of, where is Lilly?"

Brooke looked around her and smiled when she saw Lilly hugging James, who had gotten out of his car seat with the help of his big brother, Andrew.

"There she is/" Brooke replied and Peyton and Haley looked over at the van and smiled. "She missed everyone, but I think she may have missed her cousin and best friend just a little bit more."

"Hey Lilly!" Haley called out and Lilly looked over at her aunt and smiled.

"Aunt Haley!" She said excitedly as she ran over and hugged Haley.

"Hey sweetie. I missed."

"I missed you too. And James and Andy and Cooper and Uncle Nathan. Where is Uncle Nathan anyway?"

"Working, but he's coming to see you later tonight."

"Okay."

Andrew, James and Jenny approached the adults.

"Mom," Andrew spoke, "Coop is awake and he wants you."

"Thanks, honey." Haley said before walking over to the van.

"Hey Andrew, hey James." Brooke said, smiling. "How are you guys?"

"Good." The boys replied in unison.

"Are you out of school for the summer yet, Andy?"

"Yep."

Haley returned, carrying her youngest son. He had dark brown hair just like Nathan and Andrew, only Cooper's hair stuck up more in the back. Cooper was sucking his thumb.

"Hey Brooke," Haley said, shifting Cooper higher on her hip, "Someone here has missed his aunt very, very much and has been excited all day, knowing we were coming to see you."

Brooke smiled and said, "Well hey there, Coop. I've been excited about seeing you too."

Cooper pulled his thumb from his mouth and reached out to Brooke.

Once she was holding him, Brooke said, "Wow, you are the cutest baby boy. You're a big boy, too, huh?"

Cooper smiled and said, "I miss you."

"Awe, I missed you too. I missed all of you guys. We have so much to catch up on."

"Well," Peyton said, "Then we should get inside and start catching up. And let's hurry. I'm starving."

Brooke smiled as she stared down the table at all the children in her life. Andrew, Lilly and James were all coloring by the window end of the table. Jenny was sitting in between Andy and Emma, who was in a high chair next to Peyton. Lilly was at the far end of the table by the window in a booster seat. Next to her was James, also sitting in a booster seat to reach the table. Cooper sat in a high chair in between James and Haley and across from Emma. Haley sat across from Peyton, and Brooke sat next to Peyton at the end of the table, and Karen across from Brooke but next to Haley.

"Wow." Brooke said when she looked back at the adults, "Can you believe how big they all are?"

Peyton, Haley and Karen looked over at the children and smiled.

"It's crazy, isn't it?" Haley responded. "We're all mothers. And the three of us are only 28 and we all have kids ranging in age from 18 months to 12 years."

And some of us are still reproducing." Peyton said with a smile.

"Do you and Jake want anymore after this baby?" Haley asked.

Peyton thought for a second, then replied, "I don't know, maybe. I mean, we haven't really talked about it. This baby was actually kind of a surprise, but I think I might want to have one more in a few years."

"What about you Haley?" Karen asked. "Do you and Nathan want anymore?"

"Well I grew up in a big family so I've always wanted a lot of kids." Haley replied. "I'd love to have another baby or two even. But I don't think Nathan does anymore. When we first talked about children when I was pregnant with Andrew, we both decided that we wanted at least four. But I think Nathan changed his mind because of what happened, or almost happened when I had Cooper. I keep trying to get him to talk about it, but he won't. So I don't really know where we stand on the subject."

"Well if you really want more kids Haley," Brooke began, "Then you should tell Nathan you do. Talk to him and try and find out exactly how he feels about it. But it sounds to me like he is just afraid of something serious happening to you again."

Haley nodded her head as she tightened the lid on Cooper's blue toddler cup and said, "That's what I think too. I know I have to talk to him about it, but I'm just waiting for the right time."

Mom," Jenny said from behind Peyton's chair and Peyton looked up at her, "Where is Emma's diaper bag?"

"Under my chair." Peyton replied. "Why? Does she need to be changed?"

"Yeah, but I can do it." Jenny said as she pulled Emma from the high chair. "C'mon sis, let's go change you."

"I'll help you." Karen said as she stood up and walked with Jenny and Emma to the restroom.

"Wow," Brooke said to Peyton. "Jenny offering to change diapers? She really loves being a big sister, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, she does." Peyton replied. "She helps me out a lot. She's like a pro at diapers now. But I'm hoping we can get Emma into Pull – Ups and potty training soon so there are less diapers to buy and change."

"Well Jake can help you with that, right?" Haley asked.

Peyton glanced down at the table then replied, "Yeah, sure…if he's home."

Brooke and Haley both gave puzzled looks.

"What do you mean?" Brooke asked.

"It's nothing. Never mind."

"No, c'mon Peyton." Haley said. "Something is bothering you that you obviously need to talk about. You can tell us. We're listening."

Peyton was going to explain, but she changed her mind when she saw her daughters and Karen leaving the bathroom.

"Actually, I don't want to talk about this in front of Jenny, so can we just drop it for now?"

"Okay," Brooke said. "But we are definitely going to talk about this later."

Peyton nodded her head just as Jenny, Emma and Karen returned to the table.

"Okay." Jenny said. "She's all clean."

"Thanks, honey." Peyton replied as she took Emma from Jenny. "So is everyone still up for shopping?"

"Always." Brooke replied.

"I want to," Haley replied as she stood up, "but I haven't been feeling well the last few days and I've gotten behind on laundry and cleaning, so I should probably go home and get that done."

"Awe, okay." Peyton replied as she slowly left the chair. "How about you Karen?"

"Thanks, but I'm short a few busboys today, so I have to stick around here. You guys go and have fun and I'll see you later."

Karen hugged Brooke before walking away.

"Andy, James," Haley said as she lifted Cooper from the high chair. "It's time to go."

"But I wanna play with Lilly, Momma." James pouted.

"Yeah I wanna play with James too, Aunt Haley. Can he come over to our house, Mom?"

"I don't care, honey." Brooke replied. "But it's up to Haley."

"Please Aunt Haley?"

Haley smiled, "Oh, now how can I say no to that cute little face? How about I have Uncle Nathan bring him over later tonight and he can stay all night? Is that okay, Brooke?"

"Of course."

"Yay!" Both Lilly and James shouted, jumping up and down.

"Okay guys." Haley chuckled. "Let's go. We'll see you later."

"Haley," Brooke said, "remember, talk to Nathan about how you feel. And get him to talk to you."

Haley smiled and said, "Thanks."

Shortly after Haley and her kids left, Peyton and Brooke headed to the mall with their kids.


	4. Chapter 4: Brooke, Peyton, Nathan

After shopping for a while, Brooke and Peyton took the kids over to the play area while Jenny caught up with some friends at the food court. While they watched and Lilly and Emma play, Brooke and Peyton finally had a chance to sit down and talk one on one.

"Okay," Brooke began once they were sitting down on a bench, "So earlier you said something about Jake not being home or something like that. What were you talking about? Are you and Jake having problems?"

Peyton thought about the question for a second before she replied, "I don't know that I'd say we're having problems because we get along great. We hardly ever argue and when we do, it's never really big. I love him so much and I know he loves the girls and me. It's just…lately he's spending more time at work then he is at home and I don't think he realizes it."

Brooke maintained eye contact with Peyton while she listened.

"Jake has been with Tyler Construction since about a month after Emma was born, remember? And it is his dream job. I know he loves his job there and he's great at what he does. And the job makes Jake happy and it does bring quite a bit of money and benefits to us, and I love that. But what I don't like about the job is how it takes up all his time. This job has all ready started consuming even the time he's supposed to have off, the time he could be spending with me and the kids and helping me get ready for the baby. And I'm starting to wish he never took the job because it's starting to affect the girls. We all want him home more. So what I'm wondering is, am I really selfish for wishing Jake would just quit his job and stay at home with us?"

"No." Brooke replied sensitively. "You're not selfish for wanting your husband home with you and your family. Have you talked to Jake about this?"

Peyton shook her head and said, "Huh, uh. I haven't had the chance. There's never a good time. During the week, he's up at 5 a.m. and out the door before even wake up and on the weekend he is home for a little while, but out the door for work by noon. And Jenny is really beginning to miss him as much as I am, and now Emma has noticed Jake is home very little. When he kissed her goodbye this morning and tried to pass her to me, Emma clung to him, Brooke. And she screamed and cried louder and longer than I have ever heard her cry.

"He hasn't spent much time with them in a long time. And my biggest fear is that his spending more time at work than he does at home is going to have a big impact in their lives and on our lives. You know, he keeps telling Jenny and me that he's only gone so much because of this promotion he's up for. He says that if he gets it he'll have a higher salary and he'll be able to be home more. But it's been my experience that a higher salary usually means longer hours."

Tears fell from Peyton's eyes as she continued, "I don't know what to do, Brooke. I feel so selfish saying this, but I really want him to just quit this damn job and be with the girls and me more. But how could I ask him to give up the job he's been dreaming about since he was a little boy. I miss him so much. I don't even feel like I'm married anymore. And I don't know how to fix this. I just…I don't know what to do."

"I'm so sorry, Peyton." Brooke said, hugging her best friend. "I'm so sorry you've been hurting like this and that I haven't been here for you to talk about this with. Maybe you need to talk to Jake and tell him everything you just told me. Maybe knowing how his working so much is affecting his family will convince him to take a break from work and spend more time at home with you and the kids."

"I want to, but I don't know how I can do that? How can I ask him to give up his dream job?"

"You said you know Jake loves you and the girls, right?" Brooke said and Peyton nodded. "Then if he loves you all that much, he won't want to take that risk of losing you or his kids because of work. He'll choose you over work. You should tell him how you feel Peyton. He may not know exactly how much his working is affecting his relationship with you or the kids. So talk to him. That's the only way you're going to be able to fix this and be happy again."

Peyton nodded her head, then looked over at Emma while she thought about what she needed to do now to make things better.

Once they returned home later that night, Brooke unpacked her and her daughter's suitcases while Lilly played in her room. When she finished unpacking, Brooke looked through the mail Karen had been collecting for her. She found a small envelope and opened it. Inside was an invitation to her ten-year high school reunion.

"Wow," Brooke said to herself. "Ten year high school reunion, June 14th. Geese, I feel so old."

She threw the card on the coffee table and continued sorting through mail.

"Mommy," Lilly said when she entered the living room in dress up clothes and wearing smeared lipstick and too much blush. "When are uncle Nathan and James coming over?"

"I don't know honey." Brooke replied as she opened the last piece of mail. "Whenever they get here."

"But when are they gonna be here?"

Brooke sighed and, smiled and looked up at Lilly. She noticed the make up on her face and asked, "Lilly, did you get into my make up again?"

"I'm sorry, Mommy. I needed to look pretty for uncle Nate."

"I told you before, Lilly," Brooke said as she snatched a tissue from the decorative tissue box holder on the end table and wiped the make up from her daughter's face. "You do not need make up to look pretty. You are all ready the most beautiful, most adorable little girl on the face of the planet."

"But I like wearin' make up, Mom. I look like you when I wear it and you are very pretty."

"Well thank you. But you look like me without makeup anyways. Except for your eyes. You have your daddy's beautiful eyes."

"I do?"

"Yep. And do you know what he would say if he were here right now? He would say that you are way too young to be wearing make up, ladybug. And I think so too."

"Fine." Lilly pouted as she climbed off the couch.

"Where are you going?"

"To take my dress off. If I can't wear make up, then there is no way I'm going to wear this dress."

Lilly continued down the hall to her bedroom. A few minute later, the doorbell chimed. Brooke smiled and ran over to answer the door. She opened the long oak door and pushed open the white screen door to let Nathan and James inside.

"Hey Brooke." Nathan said smiling as he hugged her. They held on to the hug for longer than a minute.

"Boy, did I miss you." Brooke replied.

Nathan finally pulled away and said, "I've missed you too. Where's Lilly?"

"Yeah, where's Lilly?" James repeated as he pulled off his blue and red superman backpack.

Before Brooke could reply, Lilly came dashing down the hall to where they were all standing in the living room.

"Uncle Nathan!" She yelled as she ran over to Nathan and jumped into his arms to hug him. Brooke smiled.

"Hey Lilly." Nathan chuckled, smiling at his niece in his arms. "How's it going?"

"Good." Lilly replied sweetly. "I missed you, Uncle Nathan."

"I missed you too. I have a present for you."

"Ooh, what?" Lilly asked excitedly as Nathan put her down. From his son's blue and red back pack, Nathan pulled out a stuffed dog with floppy ears and dressed in a pink shirt and denim skirt with a pink bow next to an ear.

"A doggy!" Lilly shouted excitedly as she gladly accepted the present.

"James, Haley and I made it for you at Build-A-Bear when we heard you were coming home. It's a welcome home present."

"Thanks, Uncle Nate." Lilly hugged her uncle again. Then she turned to her cousin and said, "Thanks, James."

"You welcome." James replied. "Now you have a doggy like mine."

"Yeah, 'cept you have a boy dog and I have a girl dog. Too bad they aren't real though, I want a real one. Come on, let's go play with them in my room."

"Okay." James followed Lilly down the hall to her bedroom.

"You spoil her too much, Nate." Brooke said as she and Nathan moved over to the couch.

"Yeah, but I'm her uncle, not to mention her godfather. I'm supposed to be the one spoiling her.

"That's probably why she's so crazy about you."

"Well, I am a crazy guy."

They both laughed, and then Brooke replied, "I can't argue with that."

"So are you glad to be back?"

"Oh my gosh yes. This past month in California with my parents was the longest month ever."

"That bad, huh?"

"No, it's just that I never planned on staying there as long as I did. The only reason I went was to make sure my dad was going to be okay."

"So what made you stay as long as you did?"

"Well…"

Brooke closed the door to the guest bedroom of her parent's house where Lilly was sleeping. She walked down the winding stair case right into the living room. She walked over and plopped down on the couch and went back to working on another fashion design in her long sketchpad. After a few more minutes, around midnight, the front door opened. Brooke looked over and saw her mother close and lock the door behind her.

"Hey." Brooke said as she put her sketchpad on the coffee table and stood up. "How is he?"

"He's doing better." Her mother sighed. "The doctors say he can come home this weekend as long as he agrees to start eating healthier, exercise more, and work less."

"Good…wait, work less? These doctors don't know dad, do they?"

"Apparently not. But if he wants to live, he will have to do what they say he needs to do."

"Yeah." Brooke agreed and silence fell again. After a minute, she spoke again, "So if dad is okay to come home, then I think Lilly and I will probably head back to Tree Hill afterwards."

"All ready?" Brooke's mother asked disappointedly. "But you only got here a few days ago. Don't you want to stay awhile longer?"

"I can't, Mom." Brooke turned and picked her sketchpad up and headed for the stairs.

"Why not?"

Brooke stopped walking when she reached the stairs and turned to her mother and explained, "Look, Mom. This trip here is not a vacation for Lilly, and me okay? We only came out here to make sure dad was okay and he is. It's time for us to go home. I have a life to get back to and a new business to manage and my family and friends. Lilly and I still have family in Tree Hill."

"Well your father and I are your family as well."

"Yes, but our life is in Tree Hill. That is where we belong. It's where Lucas is. I feel like I'm with him more when I'm home in Tree Hill."

Suzanne Davis stared at her daughter sympathetically.

"Okay," She replied, "I can understand that. You are happier in Tree Hill with your friends and Lucas's family, which is why you went back after leaving. And I know you still hold a huge grudge against your father and me because we didn't spend much time with you when you were growing up. We both regret that so much now and we are so sorry."

Brooke listened seriously while her mother spoke. She had never, in her entire life, heard her mother give a speech like this before.

"I know we have no right to even ask this of you Brooke, honey, but your father and I both need you and Lilly right now. We both want and need to spend time with you two some more. And I know you really want to get back to your life in Tree Hill soon, but can't you stay with us a little while longer? Can't you stay, at least until your father gets back on his feet, please?"

Brooke stared at her mother, trying to decide if this was enough to keep her there.

"I had never heard my mom make a speech like that before, or look so serious." Brooke said to Nathan once she finished telling him what made her stay in California. "And I guess her admitting that she was sorry for not spending time with me when I was still with them was what made me stay. I think I was feeling that if I stayed for awhile and spent time with my parents, that it would make up for the years they chose not to spend time with me."

"And did it?" Nathan asked.

Brooke thought about the time she had just recently spent with her mom and dad. The trips to the mall, to the beach, and even the time spent at the house, talking and laughing and helping her dad. She smiled a small smile and replied, "I think, maybe, in a small way it did. It feels like it brought us a little closer."

"That's great, Brooke." Nathan said smiling. "I'm glad you had that chance to change your relationship with them."

Brooke smiled and glanced down at the coffee table. She saw the invitation again and picked it up.

"Hey, check out what I got in the mail." She said as she showed him the card.

Nathan took the card and read it out loud.

"Tree Hill High School presents the Class of 2010 high school Reunion. Wow…ten years."

"I know it's crazy isn't it?"

"Yeah, I think we got our invitation yesterday. So are you going to go?"

"Of course." Brooke chuckled. "Why wouldn't I go?"

Nathan hesitated, "Because being at the high school and seeing all of yours and his friends might bring back memories of Lucas."

Brooke's smile faded. She bowed her head and thought about what Nathan had just said. He was right. Going back to the place where she had first become a part of Lucas's life would bring back so many memories of him. But wasn't that the point of a reunion? Weren't you supposed to have memories?

"You're right, Nate." She said, smiling over at him. "But that's not a painful thing to me anymore. Sure, I miss him a lot and I cry sometimes, but having memories is what keeps him alive for me. Besides, the reunion will be fun."

"Okay." Nathan said, smiling. "We can all go together then."

"Great. I can't wait. It's in about two weeks, right?"

"Yeah." Nathan replied after glancing down at the card. "Well I should probably get going. I have to get up early and run some errands before I pick up my mom and my new step dad from the airport tomorrow."

"Oh that's right." Brooke remembered. "Your mom and Aaron are coming back from their honeymoon. Are you excited?"

"Yeah. I miss my mom and Aaron. He's a really great guy for my mom and he makes her really happy. They deserve each other."

Brooke smiled and Nathan continued.

"Well, I should go. So you're sure it's okay that James stays overnight?"

"Oh, of course. I invited him. Lilly really missed her best friend. It's no problem, really."

"Okay. Hey James!" Nathan hollered. "I'm leaving!"

James and Lilly came running out to living room. James threw his arms around Nathan's legs.  
"Bye Dad." He said. "I wove you."

"I love you too pal. You have fun with your cousin, but be good for aunt Brooke. Your mom and I will pick you up after I pick up your grandma Deb grandpa Aaron from the airport."

"Okay."

"All right. Give me five."

Nathan held up his hand and James high-fived him. Then Nathan looked at Lilly and said, "Okay Lil, your turn. Where's my kiss?"

Lilly walked up and kissed her uncle's cheek. Then Nathan hugged Brooke and left.


	5. Chapter 5: I'm Sorry

**P**eyton pulled a toddler's cup of apple juice from the refrigerator and closed the door. She walked from the kitchen in the middle of the house to Emma's bedroom in the front of the house. Jenny was sitting in the rocking chair next to the wooden crib, holding Emma. She smiled when she was Peyton.

"Hi Mom." She said. "I got Emma in her pajamas for you."

"Oh, thanks sweetie." Peyton replied before taking Emma from Jenny's lap. "You didn't have to do that."

"It's okay, I wanted to. I like helping you with her."

Peyton smiled at Jenny and said, "Well, thank you. How about you go get ready for bed now and then we can watch a movie or something if you want."

"No thanks, Mom. I think I'll just go to bed."

"Are you sure? We always watch movies on Saturday night."

"Yeah, I don't feel like it tonight." Jenny replied before hugging her mom. "I love you."

"I love you, too. Goodnight."

Jenny stopped in the doorway, turned to Peyton and asked, "Hey Mom…when he does get home, would you give dad a hug for me and tell him I love him?"

Peyton nodded her head and Jenny left. Peyton stared at the spot where Jenny had just been standing. She thought about Jake and how she was finally starting to see that Jake's not being home was noe beginning to affect her relationship with Jenny. She did not want her children, or her self to suffer anymore. It was time to change things.

Peyton lowered Emma into the oak crib with teddy bear crib liner and handed her the toddler cup.

"Da-da?" Emma muttered. "Where da-da?"

Peyton moved the pale yellow baby blanket higher on her daughter and said, "Shh…time to go to sleep."

She turned on the baby monitor and left the bedroom, a single tear falling from her cheek

"Wow…it's positive." Haley whispered to herself in awe as she stared down at the stick in her hand. "I'm pregnant. Again."

She sighed, but then smiled. This was definitely unexpected, but it made her happy. She wanted to have another baby and Nathan…oh, Nathan. The smile faded from her face. Nathan. How would he feel about her being pregnant? They both had always wanted a lot of kids, but Haley was pretty sure Nathan had changed his mind about having more after she nearly lost her life when Cooper was born.

Nathan sat by Haley's bed in the hospital, holding her hand and stroking her head with a cool washcloth.

"How're you doing?" He asked and Haley turned her head to look at him.

"I'm a little nervous, and totally uncomfortable. I feel like I could burst at any minute."

"Well it's only a little while longer and then we can finally settle our bet."

Haley smiled widely, "You know I am going to win. This baby is another boy. I can feel it."

"I don't know. I think it's a girl. We're due for a little girl. We've got two boys all ready."

"Yes we do. We have the two most adorable, wonderful little boys on the planet, and we're about to have the third."

"Maybe." Nathan smiled. "Another boy would be great. But a little girl would be different and cool too. Don't you think so?"

"Oh yeah. I'd love to have a little girl and dress her up in cute little dresses and stuff. But I love my boys too. and since I know this baby is another boy, maybe in a few years we can try again for that little girl we both want so much."

"Okay, slow down Hales," Nathan chuckled, "one baby at a time. Let's see how this one goes first. We are certainly going to have our hands full from now on."

"Well, I'll love the baby no matter if it is a boy or a girl. I just wish he or she would've waited until he or she is supposed to come a month and a half from now."

"So do I. For you and the baby."

"Yeah, I…uh, oh," Haley moved her hand to her stomach. "Another contraction."

"Okay, just squeeze my hand."

A few minutes later, the contraction was over and Haley could rest again on her pillow. But after every contraction ended, she felt weaker and weaker. As another contraction ended, Haley's doctor entered the room.

"How are you doing, Haley?" She asked.

"I don't know. You tell me."

Doctor Tammerson checked the charts and the monitors that surrounded Haley. He squinted his eyes in concern.

"Hmm…" He mumbled.

"What?" Haley asked, almost in panic as she lifted her head from her pillow and Nathan looked worried then too. "What's wrong?"

"Well," the doctor replied, "The baby's heart rate has dropped below where I'd like it to be and yours seems to be being affected.

"What does that mean?"

Doctor Tammerson sighed again and said, "If the heart rate's don't improve within the next half hour, I'm afraid I'll have to perform an emergency Cesarean section. I'm going to have the nurses prep you for just in case and I'll be back to check on you."

The doctor left the room and Haley stared at Nathan seriously.

"I'm scared, Nathan." She said with tears swelling her eyes. "I don't want anything bad to happen. I want the baby to be okay."

"It will be, Haley." Nathan said comfortingly, though he still sounded as worried as Haley was. "The baby will be fine and you will be fine. I promise."

About forty minutes later, Haley was wheeled to the operating room. Nathan, now dressed in scrubs, sat by Haley's head while they both anticipated the arrival of their baby.

"How much longer?" Haley asked, her voice trembled and was weak.

"Just a little while longer, Haley." The doctor replied. "We're almost to the baby."

"It's okay, Hales." Nathan said before he kissed her head. "You're almost done."

And about ten minutes later, the doctor pulled the baby out and said, "You can relax now, Haley. Your brand new baby boy is out."

Nathan kissed Haley's head, smiled and said, "It's okay, Haley. He's here, our son is here."

"Why isn't he crying? I can't hear him. Nathan, go see if he is okay."

Nathan walked over to the station where the nurses were working on the baby and cleaning him off. The baby was on his side, and one nurse was patting his back, trying to get the baby to cry. Finally, the loud cry was heard.

"There we go." The nurse said with a smile as she continued cleaning the baby.

"Is he okay?" Nathan asked.

"Well his lungs sound a little weak and are a little underdeveloped, so he'll have to spend awhile in the NICU. But everything else seems well right now."

Nathan sighed in relief and then walked back to Haley. Haley watched as she returned, but her vision became blurry.

"He's okay, Haley. The nurse said he'll be okay." Nathan sat next to her again. "He's beautiful."

Haley smiled and moved her hand to Nathan's face,beeping"I love you." She said. She dropped her hand and closed her eyes as she heard machines start around her. she heard Nathan calling out to her too, but felt too weak to answer…

Haley snapped out of her trance when Nathan knocked on the door.

"Haley, are you okay?"

She quickly reached for tissue to wrap the pregnancy test in as she answered, "I'll be out in a minute."

Haley tossed the tissue ball into the trash can next to the toilet before washing her hands. After drying her hands, she opened the door to leave the bathroom and entered her and Nathan's bedroom.

"Are you okay?" Nathan asked again as he began to dress down into his boxers and t-shirt.

"Yeah, I was just brushing my teeth." Haley lied as she pulled down the covers on her side of the bed. "So is Cooper okay?"

"Yeah." Nathan chuckled. "He just wanted his monkey and a hug from me."

Haley smiled as she climbed into bed.

"Those kids are crazy about you." She said. "They love you so much."

"I love them too." Nathan said as he slid under the covers next to his wife. "And while they are crazy about me, I am so crazy in love with you."

Haley smiled again before Nathan kissed her. the kissing grew intense and continuos, but before anything more could happen, Haley pushed him away.

"What's wrong?" Nathan wondered, his eyebrows curled.

"Nothing, I just need to talk to you about something."

Nathan stared at his wife curiously. Something was bothering her.

"Okay, what's up?"

Haley sighed and delayed about 30 seconds before slowly speaking, "I…well, um…

She stared at her husband's face. She needed to tell him. she had to tell him that she was pregnant again. But she didn't know how she could because she couldn't seem to find the words at this partcular moment, after everything she had just remembered and been thinking about in the bathroom. Haley didn't want to disappoint her husband. She wanted Nathan to want another baby just as much as she did.

"What is it Haley?"

"I've just been wondering…how would you feel about possibly having another baby?"

Nathan sighed and said, "Haley, we've talked about this before, I—

"No we haven't. Not really. Every time I bring up wanting to have another baby, you say barely two words about it before changing the subject. So can we please just talk about it this time for longer than two minutes? Will you please just honestly tell me how you feel?"

"Haley, I know you really want to have another baby, but considering what happened the last time, I'm not so sure it's a good idea. You and Cooper both spent a month in the hospital, Coop in an incubator in the NICU and you in a coma. I almost lost you and I don't want to take that risk again. It was too hard."

"I know that was hard for you Nathan and I know you were scared, but Cooper and I are both okay now and we don't know that what happened last time will happen again."

"True, but we don't that it won't either. I love you so much, Haley and so do the boys. I don't know what I would do if we lost you."

"I love you to Nathan and I love our family. But when we got married, we both agreed that we wanted to have a big family. Don't you still want that? Wouldn't you like to try again for a little girl like we talked about when I had Coop?"

"I all ready have a big family Hales. We have three children, three boys, and that is big to me. I know you want more kids, especially a little girl, but I really don't think I can take that risk again. I'm sorry."

He kissed her cheek and rolled over. Haley felt disappointed about Nathan's opinion. But she also understood where he was coming from. And as she thought about it more, she was scared to about something happening like that again. But it was too late now, and that scared Haley even more.

Haley looked down at her stomach, put her hand there and whispered, "I'm sorry too."

Peyton woke early the following morning to her baby kicking.

"Whoa," she said, touching her stomach. "Major kicking action going on. Baby, you are way more active than your sister was. You're never going to let mommy sleep are you?"

Jake rolled over in bed and faced Peyton. He opened his eyes and asked groggily, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Peyton said, sitting up.

Jake sat up next to her and asked, "Is the baby keeping you up?"

"Pretty much." Peyton replied, staring at her husband. After a minute she said, "I missed you yesterday."

"I missed you too." Jake replied as he took her hand in his. "So…exactly how mad at me are you about yesterday?"

Peyton sighed, "Jake, I'm not mad at you. I'm just upset. I'm upset that you're hardly ever home anymore to spend time with me and the girls. We never see you anymore and it's really beginning to have an impact on the kids. you saw how Emma acted yesterday when you were leaving. She hates it when you leave because she probably thinks she may not see you again. It broke my heart to see her like that."

Jake frowned and said, "I know. It broke my heart too. I hate that I have to work so much, Peyton, but I have a great job and this promotion…I really want it."

"I know you do honey, but it's not something we need. We're doing fine with money right now. You don't have to work all the time. And we would rather have you home."

"I know, Peyton. And I will be home more, just as soon as—

"No, Jake." Peyton interrupted sternly. "Not after you get this promotion. Things need to change now. You need to be home with your children and with me once in awhile. Do you know we haven't spent a night alone together since I found out I was pregnant? That's barely six months Jake."

Jake stared at Peyton and watched as tears began to run down her cheeks. Peyton continued.

"I miss being with you, Jake. Even like this, just talking to you and holding your hand. It feels so good to just touch you and hear your voice. I miss that passion and romance we used to have before you got that job. And I would really, really love to get that back."

"I'm sorry, Peyton. I didn't know you felt that way, and I'm really sorry we haven't talked about it before now. I know I've been a horrible jerk of a husband and father."

"No, you're not. You've just been busy. But you have to be less busy now Jake. we have another baby coming and he or she is going to take a lot out of both of us and we need to stick together. You need to start making some changes, Jake. For your family."

"I know, and I will, I promise. I'm going to try my hardest to be home more and whenever I have free time, I'm going to spend it with you and the girls. And you and I can start our time together with the reunion in a couple weeks."

"Oh, yeah." Peyton smiled and leaned in to kiss Jake. "I do love you, you know."

"I love you too." Jake kissed her again. "Well, we must seriously be in love if we can still make out like we're in high school."

Peyton chuckled, then continued to make out with her husband.


	6. Chapter 6: Explanations

Nathan stood behind the single white stroller,in which Cooper was sitting and kicking his small feet. Andrew sat in a chair next to the stroller, playing with his gameboy. Nathan watched more and more people walk off the escalator of the airport, waiting for his mother and stepfather to be in the next group of people.

"When are they gonna be down here, Dad?" Andrew asked as he turned off his gameboy.

"Any minute, pal." Nathan said, looking down at his son. "Just be patient."

"I'm seven. How the heck am I supposed to do that?"

"Gamma!" Cooper shouted, pointing towards the moving stairs.

Nathan and Andrew both looked over and saw Deb and Aaron walking towards them. Deb and Nathan smiled widely when they embraced each other.

"Oh, I missed you, my boy, so much." Deb said. "I'm so happy to see you."

"I missed you too Mom." Nathan said as they pulled away.

Deb looked down at Andrew, who just finished hugging Aaron. She hugged him while Nathan hugged Aaron.

"It's good to have you both back." Nathan said before kneeling down to unbuckle the belt to the stroller. He lifted Cooper from the seat.

"Well it's good to be back." Aaron replied to Nathan before speaking to Cooper. "And well look at you son. I think you grew while we were away."

Deb turned around and reached for Cooper. "Awe, there's my handsome grandson."

Deb took him and kissed his cheek. "I think he did grow."

After a minute, she asked, "So, um, there a couple of family members missing here. Where are Haley and James?"

"James spent the night with Lilly at Brooke's last night and Haley said she had some appointment she couldn't miss."

"An appointment for what?" Aaron wondered.

"I'm not sure. But we should get going. Let's go get your luggage and go have some lunch."

"Sounds good to me." Deb said.

Haley sat anxiously in her doctor's office, waiting for her doctor to return with test results. Finally, Doctor Tate entered.

"Sorry to keep you waitingm Haley." She said as she closed the door behind her. "But I finally have the results of your blood tests."

Haley sighed nervously, "And?"

"Congratulations, you're definitely, 100 percent pregnant. In fact, you're about six weeks pregnant."

Haley digested this not-so-surprising- anymore news. She was six weeks pregnant…wow. That meant that she and Nathan conceived this baby the night of their 11th wedding anniversary.

"So were you and Nathan trying to have another baby?" Doctor Tate wondered.

"Umm…" Haley hummed with a smile, "No, actually, we weren't. this pregnancy is definitely a surprise."

"Well, I'm sure Nathan will be thrilled anyway once you give him the news."

Haley bowed her head, remembering the conversation she'd just had with Nathan last night. He'd made it pretty clear that he didn't want to have another baby. So how was he going to react when she did tell him she was pregnant?

"Doctor Tate," Haley said when she looked over at the tall blond woman who had just finished filling out paper work on the counter, "You remember, I'm sure, that I went through a difficult pregnancy with my son Cooper a couple of years ago and an even worse delivery. And, well…Nathan and I…well, our biggest concern with me having another baby is of something happening to me or the baby again like it happened last time or even worse."

"Haley," the doctor began as she rolled her stool over and sat down acroos from Haley on the patient table, "there are risks in every pregnancy. And with your last pregnancy, there weren't any signs that you were going to go into premature labor or have a delivery like you did. Things just happen sometimes and there isn't anything anyone can do to control them sometimes. This time around, I can't promise that everything will go smoothly considering your last situation, but I can tell you that right now, everything appears fine and you and the baby are healthy. And yes, because of your previous pregnancy and delivery, I do want to monitor you a little more just to be safe and you will need to have a scheduled Cesarean. But I don't think you will have much more to worry about other than that as long as you keep you and your bbaby healthy."

Haley smiled at that comforting thought. She only wished Nathan were here to listen to what the doctor just explained. Sure, Haley was still worried and she probably would be until the baby arrived safely. But she had to tell Nathan soon. After all, she didn't have much time before he and everyone else figured out that she was going to be a mother again.

After the airport, Nathan took Deb and Aaron and his children out to lunch. Now, he and his mother talked while Aaron took Andrew to the game room and Cooper chewed on French Fries.

"So this appointment Haley went to," Deb began, "She couldn't reschedule?"

"I don't know." Nathan replied. "But I do know she can't wait to see you and Aaron. And to be honest, I think the 'appointment' may have been a reason to avoid coming with me."

"Why would she want to avoid you? Did you have a fight?"

"Not exactly. I think she's just upset with me."

"Upset about what?"

"We had a disagreement last night. I told her I don't think we should have another baby."

Deb looked at Nathan confused, "What? Why don't you want to have another baby? I thought you and Haley wanted more?"

"Yeah. I want to give Haley another baby. I'm just not sure I can take that risk of losing her again."

"Oh." Deb said nodding her head. "I see."

"I really want to give Haley the baby that she wants and I even think it would be great to try for a little girl, but not at the risk of losing Haley like I almost did when Cooper was born."

"That's totally understandable honey. It's okay to be scared and natural, especially after what happened last time. But you don't know that that will happen again."

"That's exactly my point, Mom. So how can I take that risk again?"

Deb stared at her son for a moment smiled then said, "With faith, hope and love. Have faith that everything will be okay and hope that it will. And you love Haley and she loves you and that should give you both some comfort."

Nathan thought about this while he stared at his mother. He moved his eyes over to Cooper in the high chair. Cooper looked up and smiled and pointed at Nathan.

"Hi Dadda!" He said and Nathan smiled.

Deb smiled too.

"See how wonderful these little ones are? They always know how to make you smile. The smaller ones do too. Look Nate, I can tell that Haley isn't the only one who wants another baby. But I know how scared you are too. so maybe you'd feel better if you talked about it with Haley's doctor. Haley, I'm sure, is probably scared too."

Nathan nodded his head. "Thanks, Mom."

"No problem, honey. You know I'm here for you always."

Nathan smiled and looke at Cooper again. Cooper spit his tongue out at him and Nathan started tickling him.


	7. Chapter 7: Liar

Haley pulled her mini van into the stone driveway of Brooke's home. Lilly and James were playing in the front yard while Brooke was sketching on the front porch. Haley climbed out of the car and closed the door. James came running up to her.

"Mommy!" He shouted as he threw his arms around her legs. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too, baby." Haley replied, smiling as she lifted her son from the ground. She walked towards the porch where Brooke was sitting on the stone steps.

"Hey Hales." Brooke waved.

"Momma, where's dad?" James asked.

"Well he should be on his way home from picking up your grandparents." Haley lowered her son back on the ground. "So why don't you go get you r back pack and your dog Brady and we'll go meet them at home."

"Yay!" James shouted, running up the steps past his aunt.

"Wait, James!" Lilly said as she went running after her cousin. "I will help you."

Haley sat next to Brooke on the steps after the children disappeared inside.

"So why didn't you go with Nathan?" Brooke wondered.

"Oh, I had an appointment I couldn't reschedule." Haley replied.

"Liar."

"I'm serious." Haley defended with a smile.

"I know I'm kidding."

"So was James good for you?"

_"_Yeah, he's always good. He's probably the best behaved three year old I know."

"Brooke, he's the only three year old you know."

"Ha, ha…so have you talked to Nathan?"

Haley's smile faded and she replied, "Yeah. We talked last night."

"And?"

"And my instincts were right. He doesn't want me to have another baby because he's afraid he'll lose me."

"I'm sorry , Hales. But I'm sure he won't feel that way forever. He'll be ready for another one when Cooper isn't a baby anymore. Who knows, maybe sooner."

"Yeah, maybe."

James and Lilly ran out onto the porch and James through his arms around Haley's neck.

"I'm ready, Momma." He said.

"Okay, sweetie." Haley said as she helped her son onto her back and stood up. "Did you tell aunt Brooke thank you?"

"Thank you, Aunt Brooke."

"You're welcome, sweetie. You tell your grandma I said hi, okay?"

"Otay. Bye Lilly." He waved.

"Bye James. Bye Aunt Haley." Lilly waved back.

"Bye." Haley replied. "I'll see you later Brooke."


	8. Chapter 8: Reunion part 1

**TWO WEEKS LATER**

Brooke straightened the clothing racks in her store. Everything in her store, Brucas4Ever, was brand new, including the building. It had taken her some time, but Brooke had finally gotten a business up and running with a name she thought of with her heart. she even had her own fashion line.

Brooke designed clothing for female children, teens and adults. With more adult and teen clothing than children and infants, Brooke's fashion line, Clothes Over Bros, featured only clothes for adult women and teen girls. However, Brooke was trying to design more children's clothes. She was proud of her line and her business, as were her friends and family. Brooke got many customer and she had excellent employees who were more like friends.

After straightening the circle rack of women's jeans, Brooke made her way to the back of her store and behind the long desk where people purchased the clothing and other girly items like purses Brooke also made. As she reached the desk, one of her employees, Kate Thomas, entered the store.

"Hey Kate." Brooke said with a smile when Kate was a little closer.

"Hey Brooke." Kate replied happily. "How's it going?"

"Pretty good. How are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm a little tired. My five year old was up all night sick and my husband is out of town."

"Awe…" Brooke said sympathetically. "Well, you can go home early today. I'm closing up and 5:00 tonight."

"Oh, really? Why?"

"I have my ten year high school reunion to go to tonight."

"Wow. Sounds fun."

"Yeah. It should be."

Kate walked to the back room and Brooke continued her work at the desk. Then she walked around the store offering to help her customers find something. She helped a few then returned to the desk to check customers out. After taking payment from the last customer in line, Brooke looked over at the front entrance and noticed her mother-in-law and daughter entering, Lilly holding Karen's hand.

"Hi Mommy." Lilly waved with her free hand.

"Hey." Brooke returned as her family got closer to the desk. Lilly ran around the desk, her pony tail bouncing and hugged Brooke.

Brooke lifted her daughter onto the counter top.

"So did you two have fun at Molly's party?" She asked both Lilly and Karen.

"Yeah, it was so fun." Lilly said excitedly. "Nanna had fun too, huh?"

_"_Yes, I did." Karen replied, smiling. "It was pretty good for a five year old's party."

Brooke chuckled then said, "Well thanks for taking her for me. I had too much to do here today before the reunion tonight.

"Sure, I'm always happy to spend some time with her. We're going to have fun tonight too, aren't we Lilly?"

"Yep. Lots."

"What are you going to do?"

"Deb and Aaron invited and I and Larry over to hang out and play cards. We haven't seen each other since the day they got back and even then we didn't get to talk much. And since they are watching Haley and Nathan's kids and Keith and I are watching Lilly and Larry is watching Emma, we thought it was a great time to get together."

"That does sound fun."

"Yeah, well I have to go to the grocery store and pick up some stuff to take over tonight. But I will see you guys later."

"Okay." Brooke replied as Karen began walking towards the door. "I'll bring her by around 7:00."

Haley was finishing applying lipstick when Nathan entered their bedroom.

"Wow…" Nathan said amazed. "You look incredible."

Haley looked over at him, smiling.

"Thanks. You don't look too bad yourself." Haley closed her lipstick and walked over to her closet. "Did you get the kids over to your mom's okay?"

"It was a bit of challenge, but yes. Are you almost ready?"

"No, I am ready." Haley replied after slipping on black dress sandals to go with her short black dress. "Let's go."

"No, wait, we're not ready yet." Nathan said before smirking. "You forgot to kiss me."

He leaned down and kissed her lips romantically and Haley kissed back at first. But after a minute, Haley stopped and said, "We, um, we have to go."

She walked out of the bedroom, leaving Nathan standing alone and confused.

After leaving Lilly with Karen and Keith, Brooke drove over to Peyton and Jake's to meet them before going to the reunion. She knocked on the front door and heard Peyton yell from inside.

"Come on in, Brooke."

Brooke entered through the screen door and joined Peyton, Jake, Jenny, Larry and Emma in the living room.

"Hey guys." She said. "Hey Mr. Sawyer."

"Hello Brooke." Larry replied as he took Emma from Jake. "How are you doing?"

"I'm great." Brooke replied. "How about you?"

"I'm just fine. I'm finally getting some time to append alone with my youngest granddaughter."

He kissed Emma's cheek and she smiled. Peyton smiled and said, "We're almost ready, Brooke.i just have to get Emma's bag for my dad."

"Oh, I'll get it honey." Jake said before walking down to Emma's bedroom.

"So are you all looking forward to this reunion?" Larry wondered aloud.

Peyton nodded her head. "Yeah, I guess. It'll be cool to see all our old friends again."

"Yeah, it will." Brooke agreed.

"I'm excited too." Jenny said. "I'm glad I get to go."

"You know Jenny," Peyton said with another smile, "many of our old friends and some other people that we went to high school with who we might run into tonight, all ready know who you are."

"Really? How?"

"Well, when we were about…well, I guess we were nearly 17 and you were about six months old, your dad introduced you to a room full of all his classmates and us at an open mic night at Karen's Café. That's the first time I met you. And we all fell in love with you."

"Wow." Jenny smiled. "That's pretty cool. I was popular before I even knew it."

Everyone chuckled and Jake returned with a black and pink diaper bag.

"Here you go." He said to Larry. "Everything she needs is in there."

"Thanks." Larry replied as he took the bag and draped it over his shoulder. "I'd better head over to Deb and Aaron's now."

"Okay, Dad." Peyton said as she hugged her father and kissed his cheek. "Thanks for taking her tonight."

"Of course. I'm always happy to."

Peyton kissed Emma's cheek and said, "I love you, Em. You be good for grandpa, okay?"

"Bye, bye." Emma waved.

Jake walked up and kissed Emma's cheek too.

"I love you, princess." He said. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

"Wuv you, Da-da." Emma blew Jake a kiss and Peyton smiled.

"Okay," Larry said. "We'll see you tomorrow. You guys have fun tonight."

Larry left and everyone else stood together in the living room.

"So ladies…" Jake said with a smile. "Are we ready to go back to high school?"

Peyton gave a weird look and replied, "Well when you put it that way…"

"Okay, let me rephrase that. Are we ready to go party like we're in high school?"

Peyton and Brooke laughed and Jenny said, "Yeah, let's go!"

"All right!" Jake said happily, slapping his daughter's hand before they all left the house.


	9. Chapter 9: Reunion part 2

Nathan and Haley were waiting for them in the parking lot of Tree Hill High School when Brooke, Peyton, Jake and Jenny arrived. They all climbed out of the Eclipse and met Nathan and Haley by the front doors.

"Hey guys." Haley said smiling. "You all look great."

"So do you." Brooke replied.

She looked over at the doors and said, "Wow, it really has been ten years, hasn't it?"

Everyone else looked over at the doors too.

"It really has." Nathan answered. "Are we ready to go back?"

They stood quietly for a minute before entering the building. As they walked down the hall, heading towards the gymnasium, Jenny was amazed by the tall lockers and long hallways. She looked up at Jake as she walked and said, "This place is cool. It's so much bigger and longer than my school. Is this where I'm going to go to high school, Dad?"

"Yep." Jake replied before looking over at Peyton. "You'll make a lot of memories here."

"Awesome. I'm going to have so much fun. I can't wait."

A few steps later, they had all entered the huge gymnasium, where at least 80 or so people were standing around and talking and laughing or dancing to the music being played by a rock band. Party lights were strung all along the gymnasium walls. And over the stage, a long banner hung, reading: WELCOME BACK CLASS OF 2006! Tables were set up too and in the hall just outside the gym, the concession stand was set up selling food from pizza to hot dogs and other snacks and soda.

"This place hasn't changed at all has it?" Brooke observed.

"Not one bit." Peyton agreed.

"So what do we do now?" Haley wondered. "Are we going to stick together all night or go mingle and meet up later?"

Jake answered her, "Well I want to take Jenny and show her around and show her where my old locker used to be and stuff and introduce her to old teachers and friends. Do you want to come Peyton, or do you want to rest first?"

"No, I'm good." Peyton replied, taking Jake's hand. "I'll come with you."

Peyton, Jake and Jenny headed into the crowd in one direction, and Nathan, Haley and Brooke walked in another direction. After walking a few minutes, they found an empty table and sat down.

"So exactly what do we do at reunions anyway?" Brooke asked. "Do we go look for old friends or let old friends come looking for us."

"Either way, I think." Nathan replied. He looked over at Haley and noticed her face was red and she was fanning herself with her hand.

"Haley, are you okay? Your face is all red."

"I'm fine." Haley replied. "I'm just a little warm."

"Do you want me to get you a drink?"

"Um, sure, I'll take some water please. Ice water, actually."

"How about you Brooke?"

"No, thanks, not now." Brooke replied after staring at Haley suspiciously at her weird behavior.

Nathan went to get Haley's water while the girls looked around the gym from their seats. They tried to spot anyone really familiar. Though they did see some familiar faces, they did not spot anyone they had really been friends with ten years ago. A few minutes later, Nathan returned with the water.

"Thanks." Haley said, kissing Nathan's cheek before sipping her water. Nathan curled his eyebrows. He had expected a kiss on the lips. Something felt off. However, Nathan didn't have much time to think as a very familiar voice spoke from behind him.

"Well, well, well…if it isn't the Scott family."

Nathan, Haley and Brooke all looked behind them and smiled when they say their favorite teacher and coach standing there with a smile and a cane.

"Hey Coach." Nathan said happily as he stood up and hugged the large man who still wore the blue baseball cap that hid is completely bald head.

"It sure has been years since I've been called that." Bryan Durham said with a smile as he pulled away from Nathan. "How are you, son?"

"I'm great." Nathan replied, still smiling. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm getting' by." Whitey said before looking over at Haley and Brooke who were both now standing.

"Hey Whitey." Haley smiled and hugged him. "Long time, no see."

"Whitey pulled out of the hug first and replied, "Yeah, well Florida turned out to be a pretty nice place to retire to, but it's not as beautiful as Tree Hill."

He looked over at Brooke. She smiled shyly at him. this was the first time she'd seen Whitey in five years. Since Lucas's funeral. She hadn't even spoken to him until now.

"Hey Coach." She said.

"Hello, Brooke." Whitey hugged her and when she pulled out of the hug, he asked, "How are you?"

"I'm great." Brooke replied with a smile.

"Good." Whitey smiled, then changed the subject. "Well the last time I saw you, you were with child. How is you little one?"

"Oh, she's great. Here…"

Brooke reached in her purse and pulled out her wallet. She opened it and handed it to Whitey. Inside was the picture of Lilly in a pink ballet outfit and smiling.

"What a beauty. She looks just like you and her daddy."

Brooke smiled and put her wallets back inside her purse.

"So, um, about Danny…" Whitey brought up the subject no one really cared to talk about. "Is he still in jail?"

"Yeah, he is." Brooke replied. "He's only got another five years, though, unfornately."

"Yeah, the bastard should rot in prison forever." Nathan said sourly.

Whitey decided to change the subject to something more positive, "So, um, how's that boy of yours doing?"

Nathan and Haley both chuckled and Nathan replied, "He's great. Andrew is a great kid. All of our kids are. We've actually got other boys now. We have a three year old, James. And a two year old, Cooper."

"Well it sounds like you two have been busy. Maybe in the next five years you'll have your own basketball team."

Everyone chuckled. From behind Whitey, Peyton, Jake and Jenny walked up.

"Coach?" Jake wondered and Whitey turned around.

"Well, well," he said, smiling again, "Jake Jielgelski and…"

He noticed Peyton's pregnant stomach and the ring on her finger and continued, "…And Peyton Jielgelski by the looks of it. How are you?"

"Great." Jake replied smiling.

Coach Durham looked down at Jenny spoke, "Hey, there Miss Jielgelski. You probably don't remember me, but—

"Yeah, I remember you." Jenny interrupted. "You used to be my dad's basketball coach."

"That's right. I think you've got a better memory than your dad. He could barely remember to get to practice on time."

Jake chuckled. "It's been a long time, Coach. But it is good to see you."

"Same here. But I'll have to play catch up with you all later. I have to go say hello to the staff and some old friends."

"Okay. We'll talk later." Nathan said.

After Whitey walked away, Jake took Jenny to show her around the school and Peyton hung back with Brooke, Nathan and Haley. The band started playing a slow song and Nathan asked Haley to dance. She agreed and they joined many others who were dancing. Peyton and Brooke watched them from the table.

"So are you having fun yet?" Brooke asked as Peyton rested her hands on her stomach.

"I don't know about fun." Peyton replied. "But I am enjoying being here with Jake."

"So I take it things are getting better between you guys?"

"Yeah, he's been home more since we talked about his working so much a couple of weeks ago."

"Does he know if he got that promotion yet?"

"No, not yet. But he's supposed to to find out soon. Either way, he promised he was going to try and be home more for us."

"That's good, Peyton."

A few minutes later, a familiar tall, bald black man and a familiar blond, thin woman approached Brooke and Peyton's table, hand in hand.

"Brooke? Peyton?" the blond wondered.

Peyton and Brooke both looked behind them at the mention of their names.

"Oh my gosh," Brooke smiled when she realized who'd called out her name. "Bevin? And Skills?"

Brooke and Peyton both stood up and Brooke hugged both of her former classmates.

"I can't believe it's you." Bevin said after she'd finished her hug with Brooke. "It's so amazing…I haven't seen you in ten years."

"Tell me about it." Brooke replied. I guess college really does make a difference. So how are you Skills, it's been awhile."

"Yeah, it has. "Skills answered. "I was sort of hoping we'd see you tonight. But I wasn't sure, you know, because of Luc."

Brooke nodded her head and said, "I miss him, but I'm okay. I wasn't after he died, but time has healed my heart. and I still have my little girl."

"Oh, you have a little girl?" Bevin asked sweetly.

"Yeah." Brooke smiled as she pulled out her wallet again and showed Bevin and Skills the photo inside.

"Awe…she's so adorable." Bevin said smiling. "What's her name?"

"Lilly. She'll be five next month."

"I can see some of Lucas in her." Skills said as he passed the photo back to Brooke.

"We all see a lot of Lucas in her everyday." Peyton added with a smile.

"So what's going on with you two?" Brooke wondered. "Are you together?"

Bevin smiled, "Yes, for about three years now. We actually, have an 11 month old at home with my mom. And we're getting married in August."

"Wow, congratulations."

"Yeah, congrats." Peyton said.

Nathan and Haley returned to the table.

"Oh my gosh, "Haley said with a smile when she saw him. "Skills?"

"Hey Hales." Skills said before hugging her. "Hey Nate. What's going on?"

"Nothing much, man." Nathan replied, his arm around Haley's shoulders. "How have you been?"

"Pretty good."

"So Skills…" Brooke began after considering something he might be able to help her with. "Have you, um, have you heard from any of the guys lately. You know, Fergie, Junk…Mouth. Do you know if they're going to be here tonight?"

"Well, I haven't heard from Mouth in awhile. We sort of lost touch after he moved to California. But I still see Junk and Fergie. Neither of them could make it as much as they were dying to come back and see everyone. Fergie's mom has been sick and he's been taking care of her. and Junk was planning on flying in for the reunion with us, but he had to cancel at the last minute because his wife went into labor. So it too bad he couldn't make it, but he was definitely glad to finally be a dad."

Brooke nodded. She was a little disappointed, however. She was really looking forward to seeing all of Lucas's old River Court buddies, especially Mouth McFadden. She used to be particularly close with him, one of her best friends. But after high school he'd gotten a scholarship to a college in California and Brooke hadn't seen Mouth since Lucas's funeral, much like most of the other people she kept running into tonight.

"Well, it's been great catching up," Bevin started, "but I think we're going to go see who else we can run into and I need to call and check on the baby. Maybe we'll see each other later."

"Bye." Brooke waved as Skills and Bevin walked away.

Meanwhile, Jake and Jenny are walking back towards the gymnasium.

"So are you having fun?" Jake wondered as he looked down at Jenny. "Uh yeah! So much!" Jenny replied excitedly. "This place is so cool. Thanks for showing me around, Daddy."

"Anytime, angel."

"I'm glad you didn't have to work tonight too. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to come with me and mom and you wouldn't have been able to show me around and tell me stories about high school."

Jake remembered the conversation he'd had with Peyton two weeks ago about his working so much.

"I'm sorry I haven't really realized how much I have been working, Jenny. I'm really trying to cut back. and I want you to know that I'm only trying to make our family happier."

"I know, Dad. It's okay. You're with us now. You've been doing better. I know Mom is a lot happier now and Emma doesn't cry when you leave anymore, or at least not so loud. Just as long as you don't forgetus, we'll all be happy."

Jake smiled and said, "I love you always, Jenny Bean."

"I love you too, Daddy."

Finally, they reached the gym and made their way through the crowd to find Nathan Haley, Brooke and Peyton still by the table.

"Hey guys." Peyton greeted with a smile. Jake walked over and kissed her, before wrapping his arms around her wide waist.

"How was the tour Jenny?" Haley asked.

"It was great." Jenny replied. "This place is so big!"

Peyton chuckled. For the next few minutes, the gang talked about the friends they had run into so far and some other high school memories that had been sparked because of tonight. While Jake was sharing a story of high school with Jenny, Brooke finished the last of her soda.

"I'll be right back." She said as she stood up. "I'm going to get another soda. Does anyone else want one?"

"I do, please." Jenny said.

"Sure, sweetie."

Brooke walked away from the table and made it through the crowd to the concession stand in the hall.

"May I help you?" a lady selling the concessions asked.

"Yes, could I get a Sprite and a Diet Coke please?"

"Sure." The lady walked away from the counter.

Without Brooke noticing, a man stepped up behind her in line.

"What do you say you let me buy a drink for you?" He suggested.

Brooke quickly turned around and she gasped at the man smiling at her.

"Mouth." She gasped just before smiling.

"Hey Brooke." Mouth said. "Long time no see."

Brooke threw her arms around him and squeezed her old friend tight.

"It's so good to see you." She said before pulling away. "I was hoping I'd run into you tonight."

"What a coincidence, I was hoping I'd see you too."

They smiled at each other. The lady returned with two PEPSI cups full with pop.

"Here you go, honey." She said.

"Oh, thank you." Brooke replied. She put two dollars in the tip jar and picked up the cups. She faced Mouth again.

"So would you like to walk with me back to my table and say hi to Peyton and Nathan and Haley and everyone?"

"I'd love to."

"Great. Come on, this way."

Brooke led him back into the gym and through the crowd until they reached the table where her friends were still talking and smiling.

"Hey guys," Brooke said, "Look who's here."

Mouth stepped up from behind Brooke and said, "Hey everyone. How's it going?"

"Mouth!" Haley and Peyton said excitedly in unison as they walked over to hug him.

Mouth chuckled and hugged them both. Then Brooke and Mouth pushed another round table closer to the one they had already been sitting at and the gang surrounded them to talk.

"So where have you been Mouth?" Jake asked. "What have you been up to the past ten years?"

"I've been in California and a pretty busy guy doing a lot of things."

"Really?" Peyton said smiling. "Would these be sex bachelor things? You sure got hot throughout the past ten years."

Everyone chuckled, but Jake stared at Peyton.

"Oh, don't worry." She said. "You are still way hotter."

"Thanks." Jake said before kissing her.

Mouth chuckled, "No, I've been busy with work and family things. Although, nowadays, there are some things that I wish I hadn't spent eight years of my life doing."

"Like what?" Brooke asked curiously.

"Like loving and being with someone who never truly loved me back."

"Oh, Mouth, I'm so sorry." Brooke said.

"Yeah, that really stinks." Peyton said.

"Thanks, but it doesn't really bother me as much anymore as I make it sound. I mean, if I hadn't loved Erika all those years, I wouldn't have married her and I wouldn't have my little girl. So my daughter is the part I don't regret. And now that I think about, I don't really regret loving Erika."

Brooke glanced over at the doors, then looked back at Mouth.

"So Mouth," she said, "all night I've wanted to walk around here and check out old classrooms and stuff. Would you like to check it out with me?"

"Sounds cool." Mouth replied. ""Let's go."

Mouth and Brooke left the table and headed toward the doors.

Peyton looked over at Haley and Nathan and asked, "Did anyone else notice a bit of a spark between those two?"

"I did." Haley replied.

"Yeah, I think I did too." Nathan said. "She was really glad to see him by the looks of how interested she was in his conversations and the look on her face when she brought him over."

"So maybe it's a good thing." Jake suggested. "Brooke and Mouth were close back in high school. She was as close to him as you and her are Peyton. Maybe the reunion made her remember how much she missed him. She's still trying to move on with her life after Luc's death. And now maybe she is trying to move on in a different way?"

"Good for her." Peyton said.


	10. Chapter 10: Reunion part 3

In the hallway, Brooke and Mouth talked while they walked.

"So it's been what?" Mouth began. "About five years since Lucas died?"

"Yeah." Brooke replied sullenly. "Five years this past April."

"I'm sorry." Mouth said. "I never really got to talk to you after his funeral. I figured you probably wanted to be alone."

"I did." Brooke said. "In fact, I felt like being alone so much that I ran away to California and stayed with my parents for ten months."

"I probably would've done the same thing. I miss Luc a lot. He was my best friend, even after I moved to California. He still kept in touch with me then."

"Really? Wow, I'm surprised I never knew that. I think you were one of his good friend's too."

"So you seem to be doing okay now." Mouth noted. "Are you?"

"Yeah, I am. It took me awhile, but I'm finally doing what Lucas would want me to do. I'm living for him by living for myself and Lilly. I went back to school and finished my business degree. And I finally got my clothing store up and running about a year ago."

"Wow, you really are doing well. So the last time I remember talking to Lucas, I remember him talking on and on about you and his family and how excited he was about you being pregnant."

Brooke chuckled, "Yeah, he was pretty excited about Lilly. I really wish, though that he could've lived long enough to have met her. she is so much like him."

"Do you have a picture?"

"Uh, huh." Brooke said, stopping her walking to pull her wallet from her purse again. "Here."

Mouth took the wallet. After looking at the photo for a minute, he said, "Well, she may act like Lucas, but she definitely looks like you."

"So I'm told." Brooke said with a smile. "But if you really saw her face to face, you can really see Lucas in her, especially her eyes."

"She's beautiful." Mouth said as he handed the photo and wallet back. Brooke put the wallet back in her purse as she and Mouth continued walking.

"So back in the gym," Brooke continued conversation, "you mentioned a lot of things you've been doing but you didn't really elaborate much on anything."

"Well what would you like me to elaborate on?"

"I don't know." Brooke said. "Anything, everything. C'mon Mouth. We haven't talked like this in years. I want to know what you have been up to."

"Well, I don't think I can fit everything in one night, but I can try and catch you up on the main events in my life."

Brooke chuckled and Mouth continued.

"So after graduation, I accepted a scholarship to the University of California to study media and sportscasting. And I'm sure you remember, Erica Marsh, right?"

"Oh yeah," Brooke remembered, "you two were really hot for each other the last year and a half of high school."

"Yeah, well we still were when we left high school too. Erica followed me to California and attended the California School of the Arts to study acting. We were really in love and I asked her to marry me just after Junior year started. And right before we got married at the end of Seniro year, we found out Erica was pregnant. We were happy for awhile, at least I was. It only took Erica two years of marriage to realize that she didn't really love me or Noelle anymore. So she filed for divorce and signed over her rights to our daughter and left us for a big acting job in Paris."

"Oh, Mouth." Brooke stopped and touched his shoulder. "That's horrible. I'm so sorry."

"Thanks, I was sorry too for awhile. But I'm not anymore. I'm just happy to have my little girl. She keeps me company."

"Awe, I bet she looks just like you. How old is she?"

"She just turned six in May. How old is Lilly?"

"Oh, she'll turn five in July. You know, she and Noelle would probably get along great."

"You're right. They probably would. Maybe we'll have to get them together some time."

Brooke smiled and replied, "That'd be nice."

Mouth smiled back and then asked, "So do you think we should head back now and rejoin the crowd?"

Brooke nodded and she and Mouth continued down the hallways on the way back to the gym.

In the middle of the dance floor, Peyton and Jake and Nathan and Haley were dancing to a slow song that had just begun while Jenny snacked on pretzels at the table. Peyton stared up at Jake while they danced.

"Are you having a good time?" Jake asked with a smile.

"Yeah." Peyton replied. "But my feet and my back are starting to hurt a little."

"Do you want to go sit down? Jake asked with concern.

"No, I'm okay. I want to finish this dance with you. I feel so safe when you are holding me."

Jake smiled, "I'll always keep you safe. You're everything to me."

Peyton smiled back before kissing him. A few feet away, Haley had her head on Nathan's chest as she danced with him.

"Are you okay, Haley?" Nathan asked and Haley looked up at his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Haley replied. "Why?"

"I don't know. You seem sick and bored, like you don't really want to be here."

"Of course I want to be here. What makes you think I don't?"

"You've kind of been a little distant from me lately. Ever since we talked about having another baby. For the last couple of weeks, I've thought you were angry at me because I said I didn't think we should have another one."

"Oh no, honey, I haven't been angry at you. I mean, I still hope you'll change your mind about another baby. But I haven't been angry. I just haven't been feeling well because…"

Haley stared at Nathan's face. Here was another opportunity to tell him about the baby. She'd found out nearly three weeks ago that she was pregnant and she still hadn't told Nathan about it. So should she tell him now?

Nathan stopped dancing and asked, "Haley, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Haley lied. "I just have a little stomach flu. And right now I have to go to the bathroom."

Haley walked away and Nathan returned to the table, along with Peyton and Jake.

"Did you guys have a nice dance?" Jenny asked, smiling.

"Yes we did." Jake replied. "And now it is our turn to dance. C'mon, Jenny Bean."

"Okay, I'll dance with you dad." Jenny said as he stood up. "But please don't call me Jenny Bean in public, okay? I'm twelve, it's embarrassing.

Jake laughed as he and Jenny walked out onto the dance floor.

"Where's Haley, Nate?" Peyton wondered as they both sat down.

"She went to the restroom." Nathan replied just as Brooke and Mouth were returning to the gym. "She isn't feeling well."

Brooke and Mouth arrived at the table.

"Hey guys." Brooke said. "Where is everyone?"

"Well Jake and Jenny are dancing," Peyton replied as she slowly stood again, "and you and I are going to the restroom to check on Haley."

"Why? What happened?" Brooke asked worriedly.

"She's sick." Peyton replied as she turned Brooke in the direction towards the door. "Come on."

Peyton and Brooke left the gym for the bathroom while Mouth took a seat next to Nathan.

"Is Haley okay?" He asked.

"I don't know." Nathan replied. "She hasn't been talking to me lately. At least not as much as she usually does. And I know something is bothering her, but I can't get her to talk to me about it. Everytime she gets close to telling me, she changes her mind and makes an excuse to leave or something."

"It sounds to me like she really wants to tell you what's bothering her, but she's scared."

"Maybe. But what could be bothering her that much? I just don't know why she'd ever be too scared to tell me anything."

Brooke and Peyton entered the restroom just as Haley was leaving a stall.

"Hey, are you okay?" Peyton asked.

Haley nodded her head as she turned on the faucet over the sink. She filled her cupped hands with cold water and splashed it on her face before turning off the faucet.

Brooke pulled out a few paper towels and handed them to Haley and said, "You don't seem okay, Hales."

"I'm fine you guys." Haley assured after wiping her face.

"I just have a little stomach bug. I'll be okay in a few days."

"A stomach bug?" Brooke repeated, unsure if Haley was telling the truth.

"Uh, huh." Haley replied, trying to sound truthful. "I went to the doctor and that's what she said it was."

Brooke continued staring at Haley as Peyton spoke.

""Well, maybe you should get home then so you can get better."

Haley nodded her head again and said, "Good idea."

The girls left the bathroom and went back to the gym. The guys decided they were ready to leave too when Brooke, Peyton, and Haley returned. So they looked around for Whitey, said goodbye when they found him, and left the school. Before leaving for home with Peyton, Jake, and Jenny, Brooke exchanged numbers with Mouth and agreed to see him again soon. It had been a fun night. A way better night than Brooke had imagined it would be.


	11. Chapter 11: The End of the Night

After a couple of hours of talking and laughing and Euchre, Deb and Aaron's guests decided to call it a night.

Deb, Aaron, Keith, Karen and Larry entered the living room, where Andrew was still playing video games and the younger kids had fallen asleep. James and Lilly were sleeping next to each other on the couch, James gripping his stuffed dog, Brady in his arms. Cooper and Emma were sleeping in the playpen by the couch.

"Wow, these kids party hard, don't they?" Keith said.

"They sure do." Deb agreed. "Andrew, honey, it's time to turn that off and get ready for bed."

"Okay." Andrew sighed before turning off the Play Station and running to the back of his grandparent"s house.

"I'd better get Emma home." Larry said as he lifted his sleeping granddaughter from the playpen. He grabbed her diaper bag and said thank you to Deb and Aaron before leaving.

"We should get Lilly home too, honey." Karen said to Keith as he picked her up from the couch.

Lilly woke up and lifted her head from Keith's shoulder and asked groggily, "Where's mommy?"

"She's still out, sweetie." Karen replied. "You're staying with us tonight, remember?"

Lilly did not reply, but simply closed her eyes as Karen picked up Lilly's pink sandals from the floor. At the same time, Aaron lifted James from the couch.

Deb chuckled and said, "Those poor kids are wiped. Honey, why don't you get James ready for bed and I'll take care of Cooper."

Aaron nodded before walking down the hall.

"I'll go get her buckled in the car." Keith said. "I'll meet you outside."

He pecked Karen's lips before heading outside.

"Well I'd better get out there." Karen said to Deb as the ymoved towards the door. "Thanks again for inviting us over. We had a great time."

"Oh, sure any time." Deb replied. "You guys are always welcome here. You're family."

"Thanks." Karen said as she opened the door. "That's how we feel too about you guys. I'll call you later. Goodnight."

"So did you have fun tonight Jenny?" Jake asked as he unlocked and pushed open the front door to the house.

"I had a blast!" Jenny said with a smile. "Thanks so much for taking me. I'm tired though. I'm going to go bed."

Jenny left the living room and headed down the hall to her bedroom. Peyton wrapped her arms around her husband and kissed his lips.

"So did you have a good time tonight, Mr. Jielgelski?" She asked before kissing his his neck romantically.

"You bet I did, Mrs. Jielgelski." Jake said with a big grin.

Peyton moved her lips to his again and they kissed even longer. After a minute, she stopped and asked, "So are you ready for bed yet?"

She smiled and gave him a romantic glare and Jake understood what she was really asking.

"Wow, you are really in the mood, aren't you?" He said.

"What can I say, it's these raging hormones. They're uncontrollable." Peyton kissed his neck again and moved up to his ear.

The ear whispering seemed to have convinced Jake because he said, "Really? Okay, let's go."

And Peyton took his hand and led him down to the bedroom and closed the door.

Haley left the bathroom after getting ready for bed. Nathan was already laying under the covers.

"Are you feeling any better?" He asked as Haley walked over to her side of the bed.

"Yeah, a little." Haley replied as she climbed under the covers. "I probably just need some rest."

"Yeah, probably."

Nathan stayed quiet a few minutes while he thought. He was really worried about Haley. He wished he could get her to talk to him about whatever it was that was keeping her from talking to him. he was really beginning to miss his wife. Was she still upset about what he had said about having another baby? Or was it something else?

"Haley?" Nathan said, looking over at her. she had her back faced to him.

"Huh?" Haley mumbled quietly.

"I'm sorry we haven't seriously talked in the last couple of weeks. I know it's probably because of what I said when you asked about having another baby. I really didn't mean to upset you when I said I didn't want us us to have anymore kids. it's just that…I'm scared, Haley." I'm still not sure if I want you to be pregnant again because I'm scared of losing you. But with you barely talking to me the last couple of weeks, I'm more scared that I've already lost you."

Haley had opened her eyes, but did not say anything as she continued to listen to what Nathan had to say.

"The point is Haley, "Nathan continued, "I really want you to feel like you can talk to me about anything and everything. Lately it seems like you've been trying to hide something and I want you to know that you don't have to do that. I don't want you to do that. I love you Haley, and when you feel like you're ready to talk to me like you used to again, I'll be here to listen."

Nathan waited and hoped for a response from his wife. He sighed when Haley gave none. He had hoped his telling her the truth about his feelings would encourage her to confess her feelings . Nathan kissed Haley's cheek softly before laying down on his pillow.

Tears fell from Haley's cheek as she waited to fall asleep. Why hadn't she just had the courage to say something to him then?


	12. Chapter 12: Advice

**B**rooke pulled the covers up over her body. She smiled over remembering the good time she'd had tonight. Then she looked over at her nightstand and blew a kiss to the picture of Lucas that sat between a lamp and an alarm clock.

"Goodnight, Lucas." She said. "I love you."

Brooke then layed down in the bed and soon drifted off to sleep.

"So how was it?" Lucas asked as he cuddled with Brooke on a blanket on the beach under the stars.

"What? The reunion?" Brooke replied. "It was great. I went with Peyton and Jake and we met Nathan and Haley there. We all had a good time and we ran into quite a few familiar faces."

"Really? Like who?"

"Well, like Whitey for one."

"How is Whitey?"

"Good, same old Whitey. He seemed that way, anyway. We also saw Bevin, Skills and Mouth."

"What about the rest of the guys from the River Court?" Lucas wondered. "You didn't see Fergie or Junk?"

"Huh, uh." Brooke shook her head and continued, "But I asked Skills about them and he said Fergie had to stay behind and take care of his sick mom. And Junk had to cancel at the last minute because his wife was having a baby. But Mouth was still able to make it. But you know, we all wished you could've been there."

Brooke looked up at Lucas's face and he smiled at her.

"I know. I wish I could've been there too. But I'm glad you decided to go and talk to everyone."

"I am too. I even got to catch up with Mouth, and I found out he is moving back to Tree Hill with his daughter, so now I'll have another good friend around."

"That's great. So how did Peyton and Jake enjoy the reunion?"

"They had a good time I think." Brooke said with a smile. "Peyton was glad Jake finally took time off work for her and the girls. He's just been working so much and it's really been bothering Peyton. But I guess she must've talked to him about his working so much, because she seems so much happier now."

Lucas's smile faded and he said, "I wish they were as happy as they seem, Brooke, but Peyton isn't quite as happy as she wants to be."

Brooke sat up quickly and Lucas realized he'd made a mistake letting slip what he'd just said.

"What do you mean?" Brooke asked seriously.

"Nothing, forget it." Lucas replied with a wave of his hand. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, Lucas, I want to know what you are talking about."

"I can't, Brooke, I'm sorry. It's not my place or my business to tell."

"Fine." Brooke sighed. She leaned back into Lucas's chest again and said, "It's probably just as well you can't tell me. I'd feel weird around Peyton if I knew."

"Well even if I could tell you, you wouldn't remember anyway."

"And why not?" Brooke asked offensively.

"Because this is a dream. It isn't real."

"It feels real to me. And I alwys remember at least part of my dreams with you."

"That's because I'm so irresistible." Lucas said with a smileand Brooke chuckled. "Anyway, I'd love to stay here and cuddle with you some more, but I'd better get back to home now."

Lucas stodd up, followed by Brooke. Brooke said, "Wait, Luc. Can I ask you something before you go?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"Well it's about Nathan and Haley. There's sort of a rift between them right now. Haley wants to have another baby, but Nathan doesn't and Haley's pretty upset about it. And I really want to help her, you know, and get her to talk about it with Nathan, but I'm not sure what I can do or even if I should intervene. So I've been wondering lately what you would do?"

"I know what you mean. I've been watching over Nathan and Haley closely lately. And if I could do something, I would just be there for Haley and Nathan. I would try and encourage Haley to tell Nathan the truth, and encourage Nathan not to give up and tell Haley how he really feels."

"What truth are you talking about?"

Lucas smiled and said, "Just trust me okay? It's another one of those things I can't tell you about. But I promise…you'll find out soon."

Brooke still looked confused.

"Don't worry." Lucas chuckled. "Nathan and Haley will figure it out soon. And they'll be happier and stronger than ever."

Leaving her to think about those words, Lucas kissed Brooke's lips before disappearing as he walked towards the water.

Brooke and Peyton stepped up on the porch of Karen and Keith's home. Peyton carried Emma inside after Brooke.

"Knock, knock." Brooke said as she and Peyton entered the kitchen, where Keith and Karen were sitting together at the table.

"Good morning ladies." Keith greeted, smiling as he lowered his newspaper.

"Good morning." Brooke and Peyton both replied, one after the other.

"So where's my little lady bug?" Brooke asked just as Lilly came running from the bedroom that had once belonged to Lucas.

"Hi, Mommy!" She shouted as she ran up and hugged Brooke. "Hi Auntie Peyton!"

"Hey sweetie." Peyton said with a smile.

"Did you miss me?" Brooke asked as she hugged her little girl.

Lilly nodded her head and asked, "Did you miss me too?"

"You bet I did." Brooke replied. "You look so cute today."

"Thanks." Lilly said in a high pitched little girl voice. "Gramps is takin' me to the movies."

"He is?" Brooke glanced over at Keith. "That will be fun."

"I thought it would be." Keith said as he stood up from the table. "A buddy of mine from work is taking his grand kids and he invited me to bring Lilly."

"Awe, that was nice." Brooke said sweetly.

"Are you ready to go Lilly" Keith asked.

"Yeah!" Lilly ran over to Keith and took his hand. she waved to Brooke and Peyton as Keith opened the back door and she said, "Bye Mommy. I love you."

Brooke chuckled and waved as Keith and Lilly left.

"Would you two like some coffee or tea?" Karen offered as she walked over to the counter with her coffee mug.

"Oh, no thanks." Peyton replied. "We can only stay a few minutes."

Karen nodded her head as she poured herself more coffee.

"So how was the reunion? Did you see a lot of old friends?"

"It was great." Brooke answered. "We did see and talk to Bevin, Skills and Mouth. Oh, and guess who else was there?"

"Who?"

"Whitey." Peyton finished for Brooke.

"Really?" Karen responded, surprised. "Wow. I thought he had retired to Florida. I had no idea he would come up for the reunion. How is he?"

"Pretty good. He seemed really glad to be back and happy to see us. He still looks like the same old Whitey too."

"Wow. I wish I would've been there. I'd love to see and talk to him again."

"I think he feels the same." Brooke said. "He mentioned you last night, wanted to know how you and Keith were doing."

Karen smiled and Peyton glanced up at the clock.

"Hey Brooke," she said, "we'd better get going."

"Oh, yeah, right." Brooke said as she walked towards the door and opened it. "Thanks again, Mom, for watching Lilly for me. What time should I be back to pick her up?"

"Oh, I'll just have Keith drop her off for you."

"Okay, thanks. I'll see you later."

"So the reunion was fun?" Deb asked as she passed Cooper's black Batman shoes to Nathan.

"It was okay." Nathan replied as he sat down to put his young son's shoes on. "We saw Whitey and some old classmates and basketball buddies."

"Did Haley have a good time?" Deb asked as she zipped up her grandson's blue and white striped bag."

"I don't really know." Nathan replied as he stood his two year old on the carpet in front of him. Cooper leaned against Nathan's legs as he stared at the Spongebob cartoon on the television.

"We haven't talked about it." Nathan finished.

Deb sat down next to her son and with concern asked, "What is going on with you two, Nate? You and Haley still aren't talking?"

"Well we talk to each other, but we're not really talking about our feelings to each other. I'm trying, but it doesn't seem to be working."

"Have you told her what you told me when we talked?"

"I think I did. I don't know if I told her everything, but even if I did, I don't know if she heard me. She wasn't feeling well so she may have ben too tired to hear a word I was saying."

"I'm sorry Nathan." Deb placed her hand on Nathan's shoulder.

"I just have to keep trying, right?"

Deb nodded and said, "Yes. I'm sure she'll talk when she's ready."

"I hope so. I just don't know what is so bad that she feels she can't talk to me about it. She's never done this before. I'm worried about her."

"I know, honey, and I know she'll come around too. I'm sure whatever it is, you'll know about it soon. Speaking of Haley, where is she today?"

"She took herself to the doctor. She wasn't feeling well last night and she was worse this morning. It's been an on and off thing the past couple of weeks I've noticed and I think she may have a stomach flu or something, which is strange considering it's the middle of summer."

"Yeah." Deb said with a curious look. "So it's been an on and off thing?"

"Yeah." Nathan replied, standing up and lifting Copper into his arms. "So this moring I told her I wanted to take her to the doctor, but she wouldn't let me. She said she needed ,e t opick up the buys for her so she didn't miss the appointment she'd already made."

Deb nodded her head again to show she was listening, but other ideas were running through her mind. Maybe there was a good reason for Haley's behavior lately after all.

"Well I guess I'd better get the boys home. I have some work to do at the house too." Nathan then bellowed down the hall to his children. "Andrew, James, it's time to go."

The boys came running down the hall wearing their back packs.

"We've got to go guys." Nathan said, walking over to door. "Say goodbye to grandma."

Andrew and James both hugged Deb before leaving with their father.


	13. Chapter 13: The Truth Comes Out

"So Nathan couldn't make it to this appointment either?" Doctor Tate asked Haley as she turned off the ultra sound machine.

"Um…" Haley replied as she sat up on the table. "Well, actually he didn't know about the appointment because he, um, he doesn't know I'm pregnant."

Doctor Tate's expression turned to a look of surprise.

"Wow," she replied. "That surprises me Haley. You and Nathan were so excited with your last three pregnancies. As I recall, he was always with you at the early appointments and never missed appointments after the first ones."

Haley bowed her head and said, "Well things are a little different this time around. We weren't expecting to get pregnant again right now."

"Well, unexpected pregnancies happen a lot more often nowadays. Does your not telling him you're pregnant have to do with what you were asking me about at your last appointment?"

Haley nodded her head and replied, "Yeah, Nathan doesn't want me to have another baby because he doesn't want me to have the same difficulties I had with Cooper.

"And you're worried about that too?"

Haley thought for a moment, then replied, "Yeah, I think I am."

Doctor Tate sat down on her rolling stool and began to explain, "Haley, you and I have known each other for awhile. I mean, our parents have always been good friends. So I hope you can trust my advice. So here it is. There are risks in every pregnancy. Some have higher risks than others, but there is almost no way of controlling that. And it's like I said before, no doctor can make promises that everything will go smoothly because things can change at the last minute sometimes. It happens. Doctors know only what they tell their patients and what they tell their patients, whether it is good or bad news, is never 100 percent guaranteed. That's just how medicine is.

So the only thing you can really do is trust in yourself that all will be oaky. Sometimes just believing good will happen, helps to heep the body healthy."

Haley smiled. She felt a little more confidant in herself now, but she still wasn't entirely confident in telling Nathan. Maybe she needed a little more time. No, time wasn't doing any good. She neede to stop procrastinating and tell Nathan about the baby before her stomach did it for her. The only thing was…she needed encouragement and lots of it.

"Everything looks great Peyton." Peyton's OB-GYN, doctor Byrnes told her after her ultra sound was over.

"You've only got about twelve weeks left until you reach full term, but considering you were early with your last pregnancy, you could be again. However, we don't want your little one coming too early. So it's important that you don't do too much and try and avoid stress for the next few months okay?"

Peyton nodded and the doctor asked, "So where is Jake today?"

"Working." Peyton sighed.

"Ah, well, you'll tell him I said hello, won't you?"

"Sure." Peyton replied as she started to climb off the table. Doctor Byrnes held her arm while she slid off the rest of the way.

"Any questions before you leave?" He asked.

"No, I think you covered everything." Peyton said as she grabbed her purse off a chair.

"Okay, then I will see you next month."

He opened the door and said, "Take it easy."

Peyton left the exam room and walked back to the waiting room, where Brooke was playing with Emma. Peyton smiled when she saw her little girl look over at her.

"Momma!" Emma shouted and Brooke looked up and saw Peyton coming.

She put Emma on the floor in front of her and said, "Go get mommy, Emma. Go on."

Laughing, Emma ran unsteadily over to Peyton, who lifted her from the ground and kissed her.

"Hey cutie." She said and Emma returned with a scrunched up face and smile.

Peyton chuckled as Brooke walked up with her purse and Emma's toddler cup and diaper bag.

"Hey," she greeted. "Everything okay?"

"Yep." Peyton replied. "So far so good. I just have to schedule my next appointment and then we can go."

"Okay." Brooke replied. "Here, I'll take Emma while you do that."

Brooke held out her arms and Emma reached for her. Brooke followed Peyton over to the front desk.

"May I help you?" The secretary asked when she noticed Peyton on the other side of the window.

"Yes," Peyton replied. "I need to schedule my next appointment."

"Okay, with Doctor Byrnes, Carter or Tate?"

"Doctor Byrnes."

"All right." The secretary typed the name into her computer and after a minute said, "How about July 16 at 2:00 p.m.?"

"Sounds good."

"Okay, it is all set."

"Thanks." Peyton said as she faced Brooke and Emma again. "Okay, are we ready to go?"

"Yep." Brooke replied. "How about you, Em? Are you ready to go bye bye?"

But Emma was staring at the opposite end of the room and when Brooke spoke to her, she replied with, "Ha-ey."

"Did she just say Haley?" Peyton wondered and she and Brooke looked over to where Emma had pointed to and sure enough, they spotted Haley walking towards the desk where they were standing. Haley stopped she saw her friends.

"Uh, oh." She said to herself and continued walking up to them.

"Hey guys." She said casually. She could feel her face growing hotter as her friends stared back at her.

"Hey Haley…" Peyton said slowly."…fancy seeing you here."

"Yeah, I was um, I was just visiting."

Brooke and Peyton exchanged curious looks.

"Visiting who?" Peyton wondered. "Your obstetrician?"

"No." Haley replied nervously. "I mean, yes doctor Tate is an OB-GYN, my OB-GYN, but she's also a friend of my family's and I just stopped by to say hi."

"Haley," Brooke said seriously as she finally understood why Haley had been acting the way she had been lately, "it's us. You know, your best friends. You can tell us the truth. You don't have to make up stories. You're pregnant, aren't you?"

Haley rolled her eyes and sighed, "Yes."

"Oh my gosh, Haley, that's great!" Peyton said.

"Yeah." Brooke agreed. "How far along are you?"

"About ten weeks." Haley replied as she ran her hand through her hair.

"So you've known for awhile, haven't you?" Peyton realized.

"No, huh, uh." Haley lied again, but her friends' stares made her feel guilty and she changed her answer to, "Yes, I found out about three weeks ago."

"Three weeks?" Peyton said, shocked. "Geese, how long were you and Nathan going to wait before you let the cat out of the bag?"

Haley did not respond and Brooke studied her face. Everything made sense now. It was clear why Haley hadn't been herself lately. She was hiding this very big news from them and from Nathan."

"You haven't told him, you're pregnant have you." Brooke asked.

Haley did not respond, but stood with a guilty expression on her face.

"Oh my gosh Haley," Peyton said, "Why haven't you told Nathan?"

"Because," Haley whined, "I don't want to disappoint him. When I first tried to tell him about the baby, he made it perfectly clear that he does not want another baby."

"Um, Haley," Brooke said with a smile, "You do realize that Nathan will find out eventually right?"

"I know, I know. And I am going to tell him soon. I'm just trying to figure out how to tell him. I don't know why, but I can't seem to find the guts to tell him. Every time I try, I turn the words into something else or I walk away."

"Well," Brooke began, "do you think you need some help telling him?"

"No, I can tell him. I will tell him. There's just something I need to work through before I can tell him, like an answer or something."

"An answer to what?" Peyton wondered.

Haley thought for a moment, then answered, "I think it's about my fear about the baby. I need to figure out why I am afraid."

"But I thought you wanted another baby?" Brooke stated.

"I do, it's just…I don't know. All I know is that I need to be the one to tell him I'm pregnant, which is why I haven't told any of you. So can you guys do me a really huge favor and don't mention this to anyone, especially Nathan?"

Brooke and Peyton glanced at each other, then Brooke replied, "Sure, Hales. We won't say anything."

"Yeah," Peyton said, "Your secret is safe with us."


	14. Chapter 14: The Sooner, the Happier

Karen finished making her granddaughter's bed before leaving the bedroom and entering the kitchen. As she was pulling the thawed hamburger from the fridge to cook for dinner, the telephone rang. She walked over to the table and picked up the cordless receiver.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Hello, Karen." The voice on the other end returned. "It's Whitey."

Karen smiled and said, "Oh my gosh, Whitey, how are you?"

"I'm fine. How about you?"

"I'm great?"

"I assume your daughter-in-law mentioned I was in town?"

"Yes she did." Karen said as she sat in a chair next to the table.

"Well, I was wondering when would be a good time to stop by for a visit?"

"Anytime. Today, even if you'd like. Why don't you have dinner with Keith and I tonight?"

"Oh, I don't want to impose."

"No, no you wouldn't be imposing. We would love to have you. Please?"

"Well, why not then?"

"Great. How about you come by around seven?"

"Will do Karen. Thanks."

"See you then." Karen said before clicking off the phone.

Haley rang the doorbell of Deb and Aaron's home. It was Deb who answered the door.

"Hello, Haley." She greeted, stepping out of the way so her daughter-in-law could enter. "Thanks for coming."

"Sure. I got the message you left on my voicemail." Haley said as she set her purse on the end table next to the long sofa. "You wanted to talk?"

Deb nodded her head and asked, "How are you feeling, Haley? Nathan mentioned you went to the doctor today when he picked the boys up."

"Yeah, I did. The doctor said I just need a little rest. I'm actually beginning to feel better."

"Well that's good. So nothing serious then? No big news?" Deb continued to pry, trying to persuade Haley to confess what Deb was almost certain she'd already figured out.

But Haley, with a curious look on her face, only replied, "No…what's going on Deb? You're acting a little strange."

"I'm sorry, Haley." Deb said as she sat sown on the couch. "I'm just concerned."

Haley sat down next to her mother-in-law and asked, "Concerned about what?"

"About you and Nathan. I haven't seen you two together in awhile. I either see you or I see Nathan and it's strange. It also worries me."

"Oh, we're fine. We've both just been busy and—

"Not talking much the last few weeks?" Deb interjected. "Ever since you asked him about having another baby?"

Haley sighed and said, "Nathan told you?"

"He's worried about you, honey." Deb moved her hand to Haley's hand as she continued, "He's worried that he offended you and that you are angry at him so much you don't even want to talk to him anymore."

"No, I'm not angry at him. I love him so much and I do want to talk to him and get things back to the way they used to be, but I can't."

"Why not?" Deb pushed on, hoping Haley was on the verge of spilling her secret. But more than that, Deb was trying to help Haley find the courage to tell Nathan.

A tear fell down onto Haley's cheek as she answered, "Because I'm scared to talk to him. I don't think I'm ready for everything to change."

"Honey, you don't have to be scared of anything changing. Talking to Nathan about your feelings and what is bothering you can only make things better for you both. Everything won't change."

Haley took a deep breath, nodded her head and said quietly, "Yes it will. It has too."

"Why?" Deb asked, though now she was certain she already knew the answer. Once again, she was trying to help Haley who obviously needed to express her feelings but hadn't until now.

Haley stared at Deb and realized that actually telling someone else she was pregnant might make it easier to tell Nathan when she finally did so.

"Because…" Haley hesitated, "…I'm pregnant."

"Really?" Deb responded in a not-so-surprised tone, which Haley recognized at once.

"You knew already, didn't you?"

Deb smiled and replied; "I kind of pieced it all together after I talked to Nathan today."

Haley chuckled as she stood up. She said, "Great. I have messed up so badly. I really wanted Nathan to know I'm pregnant before our family and friends. Brooke and Peyton found out today too when I ran into them leaving my doctor's office."

"So this is why you haven't been talking to Nate?"

Haley nodded her head and said, "I know it's crazy. Normally, I'd be bursting to tell Nathan about a new baby and couldn't stop talking about it. But the last three times I've been pregnant, Nathan was happy at the thought of a new baby."

"Well how do you know he won't be this time?" De basked as she stood up next to her daughter-in-law. "Haley, I know that when you and Nathan talked about this he said he didn't think it was a good idea. But after talking to him about it, I think he is realizing that he may want a new baby, but he's just scared. Besides, maybe knowing you actually are pregnant will make him less afraid. He loves you so much, Haley. And right now, he's afraid he is losing you because you won't talk to him."

Haley was taking everything Deb said into serious thought.

"Look," Deb continued with a friendly sigh, "I know you and Nathan are both scared to have another baby because of last time. And I know you are trying to work this all out before you tell Nathan. But it might be a better idea to tell him before you try and figure everything out because Nathan is going to need help doing that too. So I can keep this pregnancy a secret until both of you come and tell Aaron and me. And you take the time you need to work up the courage to tell Nate about the baby. But Haley, trust me when I say the sooner the better. In other words, the sooner you tell Nathan about the baby, the happier you'll both be."


	15. Chapter 15: Closer, But Not Quite

Brooke closed the door and set her keys down on the end table by the door. She walked to the living room and pressed the PLAY button on the answering machine.

"You have two new messages." The machine spoke. "Message one…"

A woman's voice spoke on the recorder, "Hey Brooke, it's Jenna. I just wanted to let you know that I need to take my vacation time early for the next few days because my husband's surgery was rescheduled for this week. but I talked to Sara and she has no problem covering for me, if you don't mind. Okay, well that's all. Call me when you get this, thanks."

The machine beeped and Brooke continued listening while she sorted through mail.

"Message Two, Sunday, 1:15 p.m."

When a familiar male voice began to speak on the machine, Brooke stopped looking through bills and smiled and sat down to listen better.

"Hey Brooke, it's Mouth. I wanted to call and tell you I had a great time talking to you at the reunion. And I would really love to talk and hang out again soon. So I thought maybe we could get together this weekend, even bring the kids along, maybe. Well, I guess that's it. So, um, if you could give me a call and let me know, that would be great. Thanks."

The machine beeped twice and after a minute of silence, Brooke pulled her cell phone from her purse and searched through her Contacts list. When she came to Mouth McFadden, she pressed send and put the cell on her ear. She anxiously waited for someone on the other end to say hello. After nearly four rings, Mouth finally picked up.

"Hello?" He answered and Brooke stood up, feeling full of adrenaline and complete excitement.

"Hey Mouth." She said. "It's Brooke."

"Oh hey Brooke." Mouth suddenly sounded just as excited as Brooke. "How are you?"

"Oh I'm good. How about you?"

"I'm great. So I take it you got my message?"

"I did. So you said you'd like to get the kids together?"

"Yeah, I had so much fun last night but we really didn't get to hang out very long. And I would really like to get together and talk some more."

"So would I." Brooke said, a smile growing wider on her face.

"Great. The only thing is, I'll have to bring Noelle along since I haven't had time to hire a new babysitter for her since I moved back. so I thought maybe you could bring Lilly and the girls can play while we talk."

"That sounds great to me."

"Awesome. How does Saturday afternoon at the park sound to you?"

"Works for me."

"Okay, then I guess Noelle and I will see you and Lilly at Hillside Acres around 1:00?"

"Alright. We'll see you then."

"Bye, Brooke."

"Bye." Brooke said before she clicked off the phone. She smiled as she made her way across the hallway to the kitchen to start dinner. But before she could look for a meal idea, the doorbell rang. She wandered back into the hall to open the door.

"Hi, Mommy!" Lilly said, waving as she and Keith entered the house.

"Hey guys." Brooke said. "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah." Lilly replied. "I'm going to take my stuff to my room, Mom."

"Hold on," Brooke said and Lilly stopped, "is there something you want to tell grandpa Keith?"

Lilly smiled and said, "Thanks gramps!"

"Anytime, Lil"

Lilly continued running to her bedroom.

"So do you want some coffee or something?" Brooke offered.

"Oh, no thanks. I've got to get home. Karen invited Whitey over to dinner and I really want to see him."

"Oh, of course. Tell him I said hello?"

"Sure." Keith replied as he exited out onto the porch. "I'll see you."

Jake entered the living room just as Peyton arrived home with Jenny and Emma. He smiled when he saw his family and Jenny looked over at him and smiled too.

"Dad!" She said in a surprised tone of voice and Peyton noticed Jake.

"Hey," Peyton said with a smile, "You're home. I thought you didn't get off until, well, like now."

"Well the boss let the whole crew off early today." Jake replied as he hugged his eldest daughter before kissing Peyton's lips. "I just got home about an hour ago."

Jake saw Emma reaching for him and took her from Peyton's arms and kissed her head.

Jenny sniffed the air and asked, "Oooh, what's that good smell Dad?"

"Spaghetti and meatballs." Jake replied confidently.

"Cool." Jenny said. "I'm going to put all my stuff in my room before we eat."

She left the living room and walked down the hall to the only bedroom on the left hand side. As Jake placed Emma on the floor, Peyton said, "What's going on with you?"

Jake stood up and replied, "What do you mean?"

Peyton smiled and responded, "What do I mean? You're home early…you cooked dinner…it's not very like you. Did you all of a sudden decide to become all domestic and Mr. Mom on me or do you have something else up your sleeve?"

Jake smiled and said, "Can't a loving husband and father just make dinner for his family, whom he'd do anything for, without any questions asked?"

Peyton thought for a second then answered, "Oh, I guess he could this time considering how exhausted his very pregnant wife is."

They kissed for a minute and when they were finished, Jake said, "Wow, that was amazing. And you were sort of right…there is something I want to tell you."

"What?"

"Yeah, what?" Jenny asked as she reentered the room.

Jake waited a moment before saying, "I am now officially the new Head Crew Manager for Tyler Construction."

Peyton and Jenny both smiled and Jenny said excitedly, "That's so great Dad!"

She hugged him before kneeling down in front of her baby sister, who was turning the pages in a colorful children's book. Peyton wrapped her arms around her husband's neck.

"Congratualtions." She said. "I'm so proud of you."

"We're proud of you too, Dad." Jenny said before looking at Emma and saying, "Tell him, Emma. Say good job, Dadda."

Emma looked away from her sister and up at her parents. She smiled, clapped her hands together and said, "Yay, Da-da!"

Everyone chuckled then Peyton looked at Jake and asked, "So does this mean you will be home more?"

"Definitely. I promise." Jake answered as he threw his arm around his wife. "Now let's eat. I'm starving."

Jenny slowly lifted her sister from the ground and Jake and Peyton followed their girls to the kitchen.

"I must say Karen," Whitey Durham announced as Karen removed his plate from the table. "That was the best home cooked meal I've had in a long time."

"Thank you, Whitey." Karen replied, placing her and Keith's dinner plates in the sink along with that of her guest's. "I am glad you enjoyed it. Are you up for some dessert?"

"Oh no thanks. I've got to watch my blood sugar."

"How about some coffee?" Keith suggested.

"Sure, why not?"

Keith pulled three mugs out of the cupboard over the sink and began pouring coffee from the pot while Karen sat back down at the kitchen table across from Whitey.

"So how long do you plan on staying in town?" Karen asked.

"Oh, just a few more days." Whitey replied as Keith set a full, steamy mug in front of him and one in front of Karen. "Thanks. I've got to get back down to Florida to pack my things."

Karen and Keith both gave confused looks and Whitey explained further.

"I've forgotten how much I love Tree Hill. The people, and the weather are always nice. I don't even see why I retired further down south when it is so much nicer here. When I retired from coaching, I thought there wasn't much reason to stay. But this little visit up here has shown me reason to come back."

He paused and Keith asked, "What's that?"

"All of you." Whitey stated with a smile. "Everyone I've ever know really well live in Tree Hill and you all have been great friends. And Camilla too. she loved this wonderful town and I don't know how I could've ever left her alone here."

Karen smiled and said, "Well, it will certainly be wonderful to have you back around here."

Haley entered her home to find two of her boys together in the family room. Andrew was playing with action figures on the floor while James colored at the blue Fisher Price play table.

"Mommy!" Both bouys shouted in unison when they saw Haley. Haley smiled and knelt down as Andrew and James came running up to hug her.

"Hey guys." She said happily as she hugged them back.

"Where have you been Mom?" Andrew wondered as he pulled out of the hug.

"I had some things to do. But I sure did miss you guys."

"We missed you too, Momma." James said with a smile.

Still smiling, Haley asked, "Where's your dad?"

"In the kitchen." Andrew answered, walking back over to his action figures.

Haley noticed her husband enter the living room from the kitchen with Cooper in his arms and a toddler cup. Then she spoke to hersons again.

"Hey guys, it's almost bed time, so how about you go get changed into your pajamas and brush your teeth."

"Okay, Momma." James agreed before running down the hall to his bedroom.

"Mom, how come I have to go to bed at the same time as James all the time." Andrew asked picking his toys up from the floor.

"Because you need your rest." Haley replied.

"Not as much as James needs."

"Andrew, honey, please just do what I said."

"But—"

"Andrew," Nathan interrupted as he walked closer to Haley. "Don't argue with your mom. Do what she said and get ready for bed."

Andrew sulked down the hall to the bedroom he shared with James. Haley smiled at Nathan and said, "Thanks. So is this little guys ready for bed too?"

"Yes he is." Nathan replied. "I was just on my way to put him down."

"I'll come with you." Haley said before she followed Nathan down to the bedroom across from the older boys' and next to Nathan and Haley's.

"Good night, buddy." Nathan said as he layed his two and a half year old in the light brown wooden crib.

Haley moved the blue blanket up over her son and kissed his head. She smiled at Nathan before they both left the bedroom. They tucked James and Andrew into bed and said goodnight before heading back to the living room.

"So how was your doctor's appointment?" Nathan asked when they were both seated on the couch.

"Fine." Haley replied. "She said I just need some rest. I'm actually feeling better."

"Are you sure?" Nathan sounded concerned. "You look like you're still not feeling well. Or is something else bothering you?"

Haley thought about the baby. She remembered what her doctor had told her and what she herself had explained to Peyton, Brooke and Deb. Haley wanted Nathan to know about the baby and she wanted to tell him. Even now, as he stared so worriedly at her and was so concerned about her, she wanted to tell the man she loved that she was pregnant with his baby again.

But she was still afraid, not necessarily of what Nathan thought anymore, but more of what she thought. She needed more time to work through her thoughts and her fears and figure out why she was afraid and why she couldn't seem to bring herself to tell him. But she was ready to try and be closer to Nathan again. She needed to be closer to him again and reassure him of how much she truly loved him.

"Haley, what's wroing?" Nathan asked when he noticed the tears that had built up in her eyes.

Haley wiped them away and said, "I'm sorry Nathan."

"Sorry about what?"

"I'm sorry I haven't been sharing with you and telling you how much I love you. Because I do love you, Nathan. I love you so much."

"I know you do, Hales. I love you too. I just thought you were upset at me because of what I said about having another baby."

"No, that's not it. I'm sorry I let you think that."

"Then what is it? I know something has been seriously bothering you that you haven't or won't talk to me about. I want you to tell me, Haley. I want to help you and make you feel better. I'm your husband Haley, you can trust me."

"I know I can, Nathan, and I do trust you. It's just…I think I'm just sort of lost right now. I have all these feelings I need to work through before I can talk to you about them."

"Well, I want you to feel better, Haley, but maybe if you told me what is wrong I can help you feel better again now."

"You're right." Haley said after a moment of quiet. "But I need to some time to work through it on my own first. But I promise I'll be able to talk to you about it soon."

Nathan nodded his head and said, "Okay. You take whatever time you need. And whenever you are ready to talk about it, I'll be waiting. I'd wait for you forever, Haley."

Haley smiled with tears and said, "I love you, Nathan."

In almost tears, Nathan replied, "I love you too, Haley. Always."

Haley kissed Nathan's lips and he kissed her back. they held their kiss a full minute before pulling each other into a hug and holding the hug an even longer time.


	16. Chapter 16: One Week Later

**ONE WEEK LATER**

"Mommy, where are we going again?" Lilly asked Brooke from her booster seat in the backseat of the silver Jeep Liberty.

"We are going to meet my friend from the reunion and his daughter at the park." Brooke replied as she applied the gas after the traffic light turned green.

"What's your friend's name?"

"Mouth, well actually his real name is Marvin, but all of his friends call him Mouth."

Lilly giggled before she said, "That's a funny name. Why do they call him Mouth?"

Brooke thought for a second before answering, "I don't know, actually. And I'm surprised I don't know that."

"Was he my dad's friend too?"

"Yes he was." Brooke replied with a smile as she thought about Lucas and Mouth in high school. "He was a really good friend of your dad's."

Lilly asked no more questions in the next three minutes that it took to get to the park. Once there and out of the car, Brooke walked towards the playground, holding Lilly's hand and looking for Mouth. On the opposite side of the jungle gym, by the long, slightly rusty swing set, Mouth spotted Brooke just as Brooke looked at him. They both smiled and walked with their daughter's towards each other.

"Hi." Mouth said when he had finally reached Brooke and Lilly.

"Hey." Brooke replied. "How are you?"

"I'm great. And you?"

"Great."

They stared at each other smiling, while both little girls smiled shyly at each other.

Finally, Brooke and Mouth acknowledged they still hadn't introduced their children.

"Brooke," Mouth began as he looked down at his blond hair, brown eyed daughter, who smiled up at him with two missing front teeth, "I'd like you to meet my daughter, Noelle. Noelle, this is my friend Brooke from high school."

Noelle smiled, revealing her missing teeth again and said, "Hi."

"It's nice to meet you, Noelle." Brooke said, smiling. "And this is my little girl, Lilly. Lilly, this is my friend Mouth."

"I thought his name was Marvin." Lilly replied, looking up at her mother curiously.

Brooke and Mouth both chuckled. Mouth knelt down to Lilly's level and said, "You're right. My name is Marvin. But I like Mouth better. So how about you call me that?"

"Okay." Lilly answered with a smile. Then she looked back at Noelle and asked, "How old are you, Noelle?"

"Six." Noelle replied. "How old are you?"

"Almost five. My birthday is in July. You can come to my party if you want."

"Okay. Want to go play on the slide?"

"Sure!"

The girls went running to the jungle gym where groups of other children were already at play. Brooke and Mouth watched.

"Well they sure hit it off fast." Mouth observed.

"I'm not surprised." Brooke said with a sigh. "Lilly is very outgoing."

"Just like you."

Brooke chuckled and said, "Come on…let's go sit down and talk."

As he and Brooke walked to a bench close to the play area, Mouth spoke again, "So at the reunion, we ended up talking more about me and my life now then we did about you and your life now, which is strange because it was a reunion."

"Well we can talk about me now if you really want to." Brooke said as they sat down on the bench.

"Sure I do. It's been ten years since I last spoke to you, and five since I last saw you. Although that last time doesn't really count considering the circumstances."

Brooke nodded and Mouth continued, "So you said you opened up a clothing store last year. How's that going?"

"Very well. Business is booming and the customers and my employees are so great. People really seem to like my clothes. It has turned out much better than I could've hoped."

"That's great. So you make the clothes and sell them?"

"Yes, well I design all the clothes and make them, but my employees, who just happen to be good friends, help me sew. And some of them have their own designs as well. And I've been making clothes for my own fashion line for about three and a half years."

"Wow, I'm impressed. You even have your own fashion line. I always knew you'd do something really great with your life."

Brooke smiled and blushed at her friend's flattering comment.

"So tell me about this fashion line of yours. What's it called? What sort of clothes do you design?"

"Well up to this point I've only designed clothing for women, adults and teens. And that's part of my 'Clothes Over Bro's' line, and it includes jeans, tops, dresses and pajamas on occasion. And a few months ago, I began sketching designs for younger girls and infants and now that I have a few finished, I'm seriously considering making the designs real and a part of second line of clothing strictly for young girls and babies."

"Sounds like you have everything worked out."

"Almost. I just hope 'Two Hearts' meets as much success as 'Clothes Over Bro's' has once it is developed."

"I'm sure it will." Mouth said confidently.

Brooke smiled amd after a moment spoke again, "So what about you? Did you ever make that dream of becoming a sports announcer come true?"

"Yes, actually. And I have enjoyed it very much, but it doesn't feel quite as satisfying anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"Well sports announcing was a big dream of mine in high school, but now it doesn't feel like enough for me since my life has changed so much lately. My dream now is to…make a difference. I want to do something more fulfilling, not just for me, but for someone else…lots of someone elses."

"Like what?"

"I've seriously been considering teaching. I really think I could make a difference in that way."

"Of course you could. What do you want to teach?"

"Television Broadcasting. In college, I double majored in Education and Television Broadcasting, so I already have my degree to teach. I think it would be a fun subject to teach."

"It sounds like it would. You know, Haley said the high school is introducing a Media/TV Broadcasting class for the coming school year."

"Yeah, I know." Mouth said with a smile. "I brought the idea to the school board a few months ago and they supported it and agreed to offer the class to students. I am the new teacher."

Brooke smiled and said excitedly, "Mouth, that's great! So that's why you moved back to Tree Hill?"

"Well, partly. I've been working this teaching thing out for a few months now. But I really did miss this place and with the reunion I was remembering how much I loved growing up here and going to school here. And I want Noelle to have memories like I have. Tree Hill is definitely the place for us."

Brooke smiled and said. "I totally agree. This is the place for me to. There's no place like Tree Hill."


	17. Chapter 17: Dreaming

Nathan's chest rose and fell as he raced down the black top by the river, dribbling the ball in front him. Once he reached the tall white pole, Nathan jumped and dunked the ball into the basket. He let it bounce once back on the ground before taking it in his control again. As he wiped his face with his already damp gray tank top, a voice spoke from behind him.

"Lucky shot." The voice spoke and Nathan turned around. "It could use some work though."

Nathan smiled when he saw his brother standing in front of him.

"Hey Luc," he said, hugging his brother, "it's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Nate." Lucas said as he pulled out of the hug. "Long time no see."

"Really." Nathan replied. "I haven't been dreaming much lately because I've had some trouble sleeping. But I think I really needed to see you tonight. I miss you."

"I miss you too. So how are the boys?"

"The boys are great." Nathan replied. "Andrew is at a stage where he wants to argue with everything Haley and I tell him to do."

"Sounds like you." Lucas said with a smile.

Nathan smiled back and continued, "James will be four in October and he's really rambunctious and energetic like you. And Cooper is finally out of those terrible twos and he'll be three in September."

"You've got your hands full. So how about Haley? How is she doing?"

Nathan's smile faded as he answered, "She's okay…at least she says she is."

Lucas squinted his eyes and followed Nathan over to the picnic table and they both sat down on the table top.

"What do you mean, Nate?" Lucas asked. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know. Nathan replied. "Nothing…yet, maybe something. I'm worried about Haley. She's sort of been pulling away from me lately. I finally got her to talk to me, but there's still something she's not telling me and I still can't understand why she's not. She says she needs to work out her own feelings, but I don't understand why she can't just tell me so I can help her work through her feelings about whatever it is that is bothering her.

"I love her so much, Luc, and I want her to feel safe enough to be able to tell me anything she needs or wants to tell me. I just don't know what I did this time to make her think she can't trust in me to help her."

Nathan and Lucas both fell silent, thinking. After a minute, Lucas gave his advice.

"Hey Nathan," he began. "I know you're worried about Haley and you think you did something to convince Haley that she can't talk to you. But have you ever considered that maybe she's afraid. Not necessarily afraid about telling you what's bothering her, but maybe afraid of herself and her feelings?"

Nathan considered that thought. After thinking about for a minute. He still didn't have an answer.

"But how can I help her not be afraid? How can I do that without knowing what it is that she's afraid of?"

"But you do know." Lucas said and Nathan gave him an even more puzzled look. "You know what Haley is afraid of because you've been afraid of it too."

"What—

Lucas interrupted, "Trust me, Nate. If you want to help Haley, if you want to get her to tell you what it is that she does want to tell you about, then try showing her that you are not afraid antymore. I know that you won't be afraid anymore once you tell her how you really feel. Every thing will be okay, Nathan, I promise. And you can promise Haley that too."

Lucas smiled and touched his brother's shoulder. He stood up and too kthe basketball from Nathan. From the picnic table, Lucas threw the ball and it soared into the basket.

_Nathan woke, startled by his dream. He lifted his head off his pillow and looked at the clock. It was nearly four a.m. Haley rolled over in the bed, still asleep. She seemed to be dreaming too…_


	18. Chapter 18: One Hell of a Dreamer

**TWO WEEKS LATER**

"Thanks again for dropping me off on your way to work, honey." Peyton said to Jake Tuesday morning as he was driving down the not-so-busy road. "I would have rescheduled, but I have already had to move Emma's appointment twice."

"It's no problem, Peyton. I already told you," Jake replied with a smile, "I'd drive you anywhere, anytime, for always."

Peyton smiled and said, "Well as great and cheesy as that sounds, I still can't wait to have my car back. it should be fixed this afternoon."

"Do you need me to pick it up on my way home?"

"No, Haley is taking me to pick it up after she picks us up. Then we will see you at Jenny's softball game tonight, right?"

Jake suddenly remembered and instantly replied, "Right."

"Jake, you cannot miss this game." Peyton warned. "You promised Jenny last week. it's the last game of the season and all the kids get awards tonight. And Jenny really, really wants you there."

"I'll be there, Peyton. I promise."

"Okay. We will see you there."

Nathan entered Brucas4Ever and walked to the back of the store to the check out counter where Brooke was working. He waited behind a customer that Brooke was taking from for a pair of denim jeans with embroidered butterflies on the bottom.

"Thank you. Please com again." Brooke said with a smile as her customer turned to leave with the purchased jeans. "Oh hey Nate."

"Hey." Nate replied with a semi smile as he leaned on the counter tope.

"What are you doing here?" Brooke wondered. "Shouldn't you be at work?"

"I couldn't really concentrate so I took off early. Look, could you get away from all this for a few minutes? I sort of need to talk to someone."

"Yeah, sure." Brooke replied, staringf at Nathan with concern. "Come on in the back."

Nathan followed Brooke to the back room. They passed Kate, Tom and Margo, three of Brooke's employees as they entered the room where designing and sewing sometimes took place. There were bulletin boards on the walls full of new designs.

"Do you want some coffee or a soda?" Brooke offered.

"No thanks. Just need a friend."

"Okay. What's up?"

Nathan sat down in a chair behind a sewing table.

"Well I don't know if you have noticed, but things between Haley and I have been a little…well, distant for quite awhile."

Brooke shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She felt like she knew where this conversation was going already. But she let Nathan continue.

"I'm pretty sure it's mostly been because of what I said about having another baby. And I know you know about that conversation because you're one of Haley's best friends. But things are still weird between Haley and me. I still feel like there is something bothering her that she won't talk to me about. She says she is just feeling lost, but it really seems like something more than that.

And I'm worried about what that 'something' might be because nothing has ever been so bad that she wouldn't tell me about what it was. I just don't understand why she doesn't feel like she can talk to me about it, whatever it is."

Brooke remained silent as she sat down in the chair on wheels in front of Nathan. She sighed and tried to give Nathan some advice without going back on the promise she had made to Haley.

"Look Nathan, I'm sure Haley is probably just trying to work through something she feels like she needs to do herself. And I'm sure she wants you to help her through whatever that is, but maybe she's just scared. Maybe she just needs a little more time to herself with it."

Nathan sighed and said, "A month, Brooke. It's been like this with us for one month. And I've tried talking to her and tried getting her to tell me what's wrong, but for some unknown reason, she won't."

Nathan fell silent while Brooke watched him, wishing she could help both her friends by telling Nathan what Haley had yet to do. But she couldn't do that, as much as she wanted to.

Nathan spoke again, "You know a couple of weeks ago, I had this dream. Lucas was in it."

He looked up at Brooke and smiled. She smiled back.

"We were out at the River Court." Nathan went on. "And mostly the dream consisted of us talking about Haley. I told Lucas pretty much everything I just told you and he responded the same way almost. Lucas always gave great advice. And I think he tried to in the dream, but I still don't understand exactly what it was he was trying to tell me.

"He said I already knew what Haley is afraid of because I've been afraid of it too. But the thing is, I can't remember being afraid anything that Haley would be afraid of too."

Brooke considered this sage advice Nathan had gotten from dream Lucas. it sounded so much like the real Lucas. and it was right on the money advice too. maybe Brooke could give Nathan advice to sort of help push dream Lucas's words into something Nathan could understand and figure out.

"But you were afraid of something pretty big recently, weren't you? Just think about it. Think about when all this started, Nate."

Brooke stood up and put her hand on her brother-in-law's shoulder.

"Think about when things started to change between you and Haley. Maybe then you can figure out what's been bothering her…and what's been bothering her."

Brooke left the work room, leaving Nathan alone and deep in thought.

"Thanks again for doing this Haley." Peyton said as she closed the door to Haley's mini van.

"No problem." Haley replied with a smile. "Is your car at Keith's?"

"Yeah." Peyton answered as Haley pulled out of the parking lot.

"Momma," Emma called from the backseat, "Juice pease!"

Peyton looked in the back seat where Emma was awake in her car seat next to Cooper, who was asleep in his car seat. Peyton reached down into the black and pink bag and pulled out a clear toddler cup with purple butterflies on it.

"Here you go sweetie."

Emma took the cup of apple juice and began to drink. Peyton faced the front again and fidgeted a little.

"God, my back is killing me." Peyton said.

"Haley glanced at Peyton and said, "Awe, do you need something for it?"

"No thanks. It'll pass. It's just on and off pain now that I'm near the end of the pregnancy."

"I remember that. You've got how many weeks left?"

"Nine weeks. Nine weeks until I can finally have my baby here."

Haley chuckled. Peyton smiled and said, "So you're awfully chipper lately. Does this mean you're feeling better about the baby?"

"Yes, actually. I am much more confidant about him or her now, and it only took me four weeks."

"So does that mean you've told Nathan?"

Haley sighed and replied, "Well, um, no not yet."

"Why not? Nathan really needs to know Haley."

"I know and I am going to tell him. I'm ready to tell him. I'm just waiting for the right time, I guess."

"Haley, there is never going to be a right time to Nathan you're pregnant again. Unless of course you wait about seven more months and he figures it out while you're in labor."

Haley laughed. After catching her breath, she explained her reasons to Peyton.

"I'm going to tell him soon, very soon. I was even thinking about telling him when I get home tonight. But I've been trying to figure out exactly how to tell him."

"How about… 'Nathan, I'm pregnant again!'"

"Ha, ha…no. that's basically how I told him the last three times. This time is different because…well, because this is the first pregnancy since what happened with Cooper. And to me, it feels like I'm pregnant for the first time all over again because I've been so scared of so much with this baby."

"Are you still scared?"

"Are you kidding?" Haley glanced quickly at Peyton before moving her eyes back to the road and continuing, "I'm terrified. But I'm not scared of the same things. I mean, I'm still nervous about money, and room and going from three kids to four, but before I was even more afraid of losing another baby or losing my life. But Lucas helped me get over that."

"Lucas? What do you mean?"

Haley smiled as she remembered the dream and she told Peyton about it, "I had this dream a couple of weeks ago and Lucas was in it…

Haley entered the bedroom that Andrew and James shared. It was the middle of the night, so they both were asleep. But Haley often woke up this time of night just to check on her boys. She looked up into the top bunk of the red metal bunk beds where Andrew was fast asleep.

Haley smiled. Andrew looked so much like Nathan. In fact, he looked most like Nathan out of all three of her boys. She straightened his covers before moving down to the bottom bunk where James was asleep with one arm wrapped around his stuffed dog and had the thumb from his free hand in his mouth.

Still smiling, Haley pulled the covers higher on James and kissed his head. She stood up and headed for the door. As she was about to leave, she glanced at the picture of her, Nathan, and Lucas holding baby Andrew in a picture frame on Andrew's dresser. She walked over and picked it up.

Haley smiled as she stared at it, remembering her best friends and all the wonderful times she used to spend with him. Mini golf, visiting the record store, and just talking. She really missed talking to Lucas, especially right now. She could really use his advice now about her current pregnancy and no-baby-Nathan situation.

"Boy, I could really use your help right about now, Luc." Haley whispered to herself. "I need you to give me some advice like you used to. I need to be here for me and…maybe tell me what to do."

"Awe, now you know I can't do that." Haley heard someone say close by.

She looked away from the photo and saw him standing by the bedroom door.

"Lucas." She said surprised with a small smile.

Lucas grinned the grin Haley had missed so much and Haley walked quickly over to hug him. She squeezed him tighter than she ever had before.

"Man, I miss you so much." She said with heavy tears.

"I miss you too." Lucas said as she finally let go of him.

Haley smiled at Lucas as he turned to look at his sleeping nephews.

"Wow, they've sure gotten big, Hales." He stated.

"Yeah, they have. Cooper's gotten big too. You know, he's going to be three in September."

"Yeah, I remember. Before you know it, your new little one will be here and growing just as fast."

Haley looked at Lucas curiously and asked, "How'd you know?"

Lucas grinned and said, "Well, that's what you're worried about, right? You're afraid to tell Nathan that you're pregnant because he said he didn't want another baby after what happened with Cooper. And you're also feeling the same fears Nathan is, aren't you?"

"Wow, you really hit the nail on the head, Luc."

"Well, I did know you for most of my life. And you've been praying to me about it."

Haley smiled a sad smile and she said, "I don't know what to do, Lucas. I'm so scared about this baby. I'm still afraid to Nathan and disappoint him, but mostly I'm scared of losing this baby like I almost lost Cooper or of losing my life. I don't want to leave my babies behind. I don't want to leave Nathan behind. I love them so much and I love this baby already and I don't want anything bad to happen."

"It won't Haley." Lucas said assuringly, hugging her. "Every thing is going to be fine. You and the baby will be okay and so will you and Nathan. You don't have to be afraid of telling Nathan, Haley. I know my brother and I know he does want more kids. once you tell him you're pregnant, he won't be so afraid anymore. You both will be able to work through your fears together. You'll be able to trust each other again."

Haley was silent in thought a minute before she asked, "So how do you know all this anyway?"

Lucas smiled and said, "Have I ever steered you wrong before?"

Haley chuckled, sniffled and replied, "No. Thanks, Luc."

Lucas pulled Haley into another hug and said, "Always. Whenever you need me, I'll be here…in your heart and in your dreams."

Haley squeezed Lucas tighter.

"Wow…" Peyton said after Haley had finished the dream story, "One hell of a dream, huh?"

"Yeah." Haley said with a smile as she pulled onto the property that was Keith's Body Shop. "But then again, I'm not totally surprised by it. After all, Luc was one hell of a dreamer."


	19. Chapter 19: Figuring It Out

"Okay everyone," Jake announced to his construction crew, "I just heard from Tyler that the owners of the property need this done in about six weeks, so that means we are really going to have to work harder on this one. Which means longer hours."

There was groaning from the employees.

"I know it sucks," Jake continued, "But it's only until the project is finished. Then we can all go back to working normal hours. So let's get back to work."

Jake and his crew went back to working on the construction of a building.

Nathan lay his on his bed, his arms behind his head on his pillow. He was still thinking about what Brooke had told him.

"Think about when all this started Nate." She had said. "Think about when things started to change between you and Haley."

Since leaving Brooke's store, this was all Nathan had been doing. Thinking. He had thought about his mom's advice and now he thought about Brooke's. yet, he still could not remember ever being so afraid of anything that would affect Haley so much that she would feel like she couldn't share her feelings with him.

Nathan sat up on the end of the bed. Wait a minute…he thought. He remembered something Brooke had said.

"But you were afraid of something pretty big recently weren't you?" She had said.

It was starting to make sense now. He had been afraid of having another baby until he'd talked to his mom. The baby…no, that couldn't be it.

"She would tell me if she were pregnant." Nathan tried convincing himself. But then he remembered the conversation that had started this whole thing between him and Haley. He had told her that he didn't want to have another baby, when in fact he did want another baby but was too scared about the risks.

"But if she thought I didn't want another baby…"

Nathan stood up and began pacing the floor. he tossed a hacky sack back and forth from hand to hadn. He did this often when he was worried or frustrated. And he was definitely frustrated right now.

How could he have been such an idiot all this time? Haley was pregnant and afraid to tell him because of what he had told her. That had to be it. Nathan turned around and threw the bag of bean at his reflection in the mirror attached to Haley's dresser. When the sack fell, it knocked a bottle of perfume over and the perfume bottle knocked the lid off of Haley's porcelain, heart shaped keepsake box.

Nathan walked over to clean up his mess. He stood the Haiku bottle up. And as he was about to replace the lid on the dish, he was distracted by what he saw inside. He left the lid on the dresser and instead picked up the small sonogram photo. As he stared at the black and white picture of his son or daughter, Nathan finally understood what had been keeping Haley so quiet.


	20. Chapter 20: Not Where He Should Be

Brooke pulled into a parking space in the parking lot of Willard Middle School. After helping Lilly out of the car, Brooke and Lilly met Mouth and Noelle by the entrance to the softball field.

"Hey." Mouth greeted.

"Hey." Brooke replied with a smiled. "Thanks for coming."

"Thanks for inviting us." Mouth replied. "Noelle couldn't wait to see Lilly again."

"Obviously." Brooke replied, looking down at the girls who were giggling.

"So where are Haley and Peyton?" Mouth wondered.

"Oh, they're probably inside. The game has already started and we're running late, so let's go find them."

Brooke, Mouth, Lilly and Noelle started walking towards the baseball field. Already seated in the bleachers, Peyton held Emma and Haley held Cooper as they watched the game. They cheered and clapped loudly after Jenny pitched a fast ball and struck an opponent out for the third time in a row.

"Great job Jenny!" Peyton cheered from the stands as Jenny and the Spirits changed positions with the Lady Rams for the second inning.

"Hey guys." Brooke said as she, Lilly, Mouth, and Noelle climbed the bleachers to reach their friends.

"Hey, Brooke, Mouth." Haley said smiling. "Hey girls."

Lilly waved at Haley and asked, "Where is James and Andy?"

"They're at their grandparent's house for the night."

Lilly and Noelle sat down next to Mouth and went back to talking excitedly.

"Hey Peyton," Mouth said, "How're you feeling?"

"Pregnant, very pregnant."

Brooke chuckled and asked, "So how's she playing?"

"Really good." Haley answered. "Everytime Jenny pitches, she strikes a player out."

"Wow, she's talented." Mouth remarked.

Brooke looked around her and then asked, "Hey Peyton, I thought Jake would be here. Where is he?"

Peyton sighed and rubbed her stomach anxiously, "I don't know. But he isn't here where he should be."

"Great game Jenny." Brooke said after the game. "And congratulations on the MVP award. That's awesome."

"Thanks." Jenny replied.

"We'll see you later." Brooke wved as she began walking with Mouth towards the parking lot.

"Bye." Mouth said.

"So that was fun." He said when they reached Brooke's car.

"Yeah, it was." Brooke replied. "I'm glad you and Noelle decided to come."

"Me too. I think Noelle is glad too."

"I am, Daddy. I like playin with Lilly." Noelle said.

"I like playin with you too, Noelle."

Brooke and Mouth both smiled.

"I have had a lot of fun spending time with you Lilly and Noelle." Mouth said. "But I was thinking that it might be even more fun if you and I spent some time alone sometime."

Brooke smiled flatteringly.

"Sure, yeah, that'd be great." She said. "Really great."

Nathan was sitting on the sofa, still staring at the sonogram photo when he heard the front door knob being turned. He stood up and quickly shoved the photo in his jean pocket as Haley entered the house with Cooper asleep in her arms.

"Hey, sweetie." She said when she saw Nathan. "I missed you today."

"I missed you too." Nathan said as he walked over. He leaned down and kissed her lips.

The kiss took Haley by surprise, much like the time Nathan had kissed her for the very first time outside her house. Haley gave in to this kiss and after Nathan pulled away, she smiled and said, "Wow…you really did miss me."

"I love you Haley."

"I love you too, Nathan. You know, I'm glad you're in such a good mood, because I want to talk to you. But I need to put Cooper in his bed first."

"Oh, here, I'll do it." Nathan said as he took Cooper from Haley and began down the hall to the second bedroom on the right hand side.

"So far so good." Haley sighed.

A few minutes later, Nathan returned to the living room.

"So I know you wanted to talk," he said, "and I'm glad, because there is something I want to talk about too."

Haley's attention stuck. She stared curiously at Nathan, wondering if what he wanted to talk about was at all related to what she was finally ready to tell him.


	21. Chapter 21: Snuck Up On Us

Jake entered his and Peyton's home and was in the living room. He dropped his tool belt on the floor by the coat rack and noticed Jenny's baseball bat and leather glove on the floor.

"Oh no," he said to himself, realizing he'd missed Jenny's big game.

He closed the door and walked further into the house. Peyton came into the living room from the kitchen. She was holding Emma, who was half asleep on Peyton's shoulder. Peyton stared at her husband angrily.

"Look Peyton I—

"Where the hell were you tonight Jake?"

Jake sighed and said, "I'm sorry. The boss gave us longer hours and—

"You know what," Peyton interrupted again, "I need to put Emma down. So before you make excuses to try and expain it to me, I think you'd better go explain it to Jenny. It was her game that you missed tonight."

Jake watched Peyton walk down the hall and disappear into Emma's bedroom before walking down to Jenny's room.

"I've been thinking about everything that's been going on between us lately," Nathan said as he and Haley sat next to one another on the couch, "or rather what hasn't been going on between us. We haven't been talking much lately and—

"Nathan that's why I wanted to talk to you. See. I—

"Wait, Haley, let me finish first okay. I really need to get this out. I know that the reason you haven't felt like you could talk to me and tell me what's going on with you is because of what I said about having another baby. And I regret what I said that night mostly because it has cost me a month of honest conversation and happiness with you, but also because I didn't really mean what I said."

"I was wrong when I said I didn't want another baby, Haley. I didn't realize it then, but I really do want another baby. I think I made myself believe that I didn't want another baby because I was so scared that what happened last time would happen again. But my mom helped me realize that if I'm always worrying about the bad stuff that could happen, then I'm going to miss out on all the good stuff. And I don't want to do that. I love you so much, Haley. And I don't want to miss anything happy that we can have together."

Haley smiled. Telling Nathan about the baby was going to be so much easier now that he had told her all this.

"Boy, I am so glad to hear you say all this, Nathan," she said, "because there is something I need to tell you. And I've actually known about this for awhile, but I've been too afraid of my own feelings to say anything. But I don't think I'm afraid anymore."

Haley was ready to tell him now. She was sure she was. She wanted to tell him right now, but her lips just wouldn't move. Now, as she thought about how to tell him, Haley felt afraid of telling Nathan in fear of his being angry that she had kept the pregnancy hidden from him for so long.

"I think you are afraid still Haley." Nathan said, "But you don't have to be because I'm not angry."

Haley was confused. How could he know what she was thinking? Or a bigger question, did he already know what she was trying so hard to say?

Nathan pulled the picture from his pocket and Haley held her breath in.

"I found this today, Haley, but it was an accident. I didn't go looking for anything, I swear. I know about the baby, Haley and I'm not angry that you kept it from me. I understand why you did."

Haley felt her eyes swell and tears fall down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry you had to keep this to yourself all this time, but I'm glad that I know now. We can go through this together now. I am happy about this, Haley."

"You are?" Haley asked softly with tears.

"Of course I am." Nathan moved closer to his wife and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I was scared before, but I'm not anymore. As long as we stick together, I know every thing will be okay. There's a reason this baby was created, Haley and I think it's supposed to be a sign that everything will be okay."

Haley smiled and said, "I think you're right."

Nathan squeezed Haley tight, then kissed her. after a few minutes of kissing, Nathan stopped and asked, "So how long has our little miracle been in there?"

Haley smiled and said, "About eleven weeks."

"Eleven weeks." Nathan repeated, thinking about how long that was. "So that's almost three months. Wait, that means that—

"Yep," Haley interrupted, knowing already what Nathan had figured out, "The night of our anniversary."

"Wow," Nathan said with a smile. "This baby sure did sneak up on us, huh?"

"Sure did."

Jake knocked on the door before entering Jenny's bedroom. Jenny glanced at Jake with a sour look as she sat down on her bed.

Jake sighed, "Okay, I know you're mad at me and you should be. I got caught up at work and really busy and—

"Whatever, I don't care."

Jake quietly sat down in Jenny's desk chair. He noticed her MVP trophy sitting on the desk next to her computer in front of a picture frame of them together.

"Did you win this tonight?" Jake asked and Jenny nodded her head.

"Yep," she said, " and we won 18 to 4."

"Look Jenny," Jake said as he moved over to her bed, " I am really sorry for missing any of your games, especially tonight. I know tonight's game was really important you. I don't know how I'm going to make it up to you, but I am going to do whatever I can. I promise you that."

Jake waited for a reply from Jenny, but the still disappointed look on her face told him she had no reply. So Jake stood up, walked over to the door, stopped and said, "I love you, Jenny Bean."

He opened the door and stepped outside. But before he closed it fully, Jenny spoke, "Hey Dad…"

Jake peeked his head through the open part and Jenny finished, "I love you too."

Jake smiled before closing the door. Peyton was waiting for him when Jake returned to the living room.

"That was easier then I thought it would be." He said when he saw Peyton who was angrily pacing the floor.

"Well then you got lucky in there with her," Peyton replied as she stopped, "because it's going to be that easy to smooth things over with me Jake."

"I know I messed up, Peyton, but—

"Yeah, you did mess Jake. you messed up again. But that's not why I'm upset because we all make mistakes, we all mess up once in awhile. That's life, it happens. I'm upset that you missed that game tonight after promising both me and Jenny that you would be there. And on top of that, you missed it because of work."

Jake did not say anything as Peyton continued, "You keep making us all these promises, Jake, then you don't follow through on them. You promised that if you got this promotion, that you would be home more with us. But all of a sudden, you have these new big projects and longer hours. You were doing so great before, but now that you have this new promtion, you've gone back to spending more time at work than you do with your family. That has to change Jake. we have to be able to rely on you. And I can't do all this by myself."

"I don't know what you want me to do, Peyton. I am trying to work less, but I can't take off whenever I want too."

"Yes, you can. You're not trying hard enough. And it's not as simple as cutting back hours at work or taking a few days off. It's about your family. You have to want to be at home with your family and right now, I'm not convinced that you really do want to be at home with us."

Jake looked shocked at his wife's comment and he tried to defend himself, "What? Of course I want to be home with you. I love you so much, all of you. Work means so little to me. You and Jenny and Emma are my whole world."

"You're not acting like it Jake, you aren't proving that to us. Ever since you got this promotion, you've acted like work is more important. I know you love us, honestly, I do. But we all need you to be there for us, Jake, especially Jenny and Emma. And when the baby gets here, he or she will need you too. And—

Peyton stopped and grunted in pain as she grabbed her stomach, "Ow!"

"What?" Jake wondered worriedly as he came closer to Peyton and held her.

"Something's wrong…"Peyton gasped painfully as Jake helped her come down to the ground. "…the bay, I don't know what…we need to go…to the hospital."

"I'll call the doctor and tell him we're coming." Jake said before standing up and pulling out his cell phone. He ran to the kitchen to get the doctor's number off the board on the refrigerator. Jenny left her bedroom and appeared in the hallway.

"Mom, are you okay?" She asked worriedly.

Peyton shook her head and motioned for Jenny to come to her, so Jenny ran over.

"I need you to…call Brooke for me…ow…and ask her to meet us…at the hospital. Then get Emma from her crib and…ow…get her in her seat in the car."

Jenny nodded and ran of to do what Peyton had instructed. Jake returned from the kitchen.

"Okay, doctor Byrnes is meeting us at the hospital." He said as he knelt down to help Peyton off the floor. "Now let's hurry and get you there."


	22. Chapter 22: Promises

After getting the phone call from Jenny, Brooke got Lilly from bed and put her in the car and immediately left the house. Before heading to the hospital, she stopped at Nathan and Haley's. She banged the knocker on the solid red door while she held a sleeping Lilly in her arms. Inside, Nathan and Haley had been cuddling on the couch. They both stood up when they heard the knock and Haley walked over to answer the door.

"Hey Brooke." Haley greeted with a curious look. She noticed the expression of worry on Brooke's face and asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's Peyton." Brooke replied as she stepped inside and Haley closed the door. "Jake took her to the hospital.

"Oh my gosh, what happened?" Haley responded as Nathan walked closer.

"Is she in labor?" He asked.

"I don't know." Brooke answered as she laid Lilly on the couch. "Jenny called me and all she said was that Peyton wants me to meet them at the hospital. Jenny didn't know what happened, but Peyton probably wants someone to get the kids. But I don't want to take Lilly there this late, so can I leave her here?"

"Of course," Haley replied, "But I want to come with you. Nathan, do you mind—

"No, go ahead." Nathan said. "I'll stay here with the kids."

"Okay, thanks." Haley kissed his lips, and then said, "I love you."

"I love you too. Call me."

"I will." Haley said just before she and Brooke left the house.

Jake stroked Emma's head, as she lay asleep on the sofa in the waiting room. He and Jenny sat next to each other, anxiously waiting for news from the doctor.

"Dad?" Jenny said, looking up at Jake. "Is mom and the baby going to be okay?"

Jake wasn't sure what was going on in that exam room and he was so scared because he didn't know if Peyton or the baby were going to be okay. But to Jenny he replied, "Yeah, honey. They're going to be fine."

Jenny smiled and leaned against her father. Jake kissed her head. A few minutes later, Brooke and Haley came rushing in.

"Jake!" Brooke called out to him as she Haley arrived in front of him. Jake and Jenny both stood up and Brooke hugged Jake and asked, "Is she okay? Is the baby okay?"

"I don't know yet." Jake replied. "The doctor hasn't come back out."

"What happened?" Haley wondered, folding her arms. "Did she go into labor?"

"I don't know. I hope not because she's only barely at 31 weeks. But we were talking and then she stopped and grabbed her stomach and was in a lot of pain. I don't know what's going on in there and it's…" Jake felt his eyes grow heavy, "…I'm scared, and I'm really scared."

Brooke and Haley both hugged him and Jenny sat back down next to her sister. As Brooke and Haley let go of Jake, Peyton's doctor, Doctor Byrnes appeared.

"Jake," he said and everyone turned his or her attention on him. Doctor Byrnes walked closer.

"Is Peyton okay?" Jake demanded. "The baby?"

"Peyton has gone into premature labor probably brought on by stress."

"But it's too soon." Jake argued. "The baby isn't supposed to come for another nine weeks."

"I know." Doctor Byrnes continued. "And we are doing all we can to try and stop the contractions. We are monitoring both her and the baby and so far the drug seems to be working effectively as her contractions have slowed and haven't progressed any further. And she is only dilated two centimeters so she can probably come home later tonight."

Jake, Haley, and Brooke all sighed relief.

"Can I see her?" Jake asked.

"Sure, but just one visitor at a time please. She's in room 311. I'll be backing awhile to see how she is doing."

Doctor Byrnes walked away and Haley said, "You go ahead Jake. We'll stay with the kids."

"Thanks." Jake replied before walking down to Peyton's room.

Peyton had her head lay back on her pillow and was rubbing her stomach when Jake entered. She sat up when she heard his footsteps.

"Hey." She said with a semi smile.

"Hey." Jake replied. He kissed her head before leaning down and kissing her stomach.

Peyton noticed the very anxious and scared look on Jake's face as he sat down in a chair next to her bed. She noticed his eyes were red too.

"I'm okay, Jake." She said. "We both are."

Jake nodded his head and took Peyton's hand.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"I know you are." Peyton said as she squeezed his hand. "I think I just needed to blow off some steam. I may have been a little too harsh."

"No, you were right." Jake disagreed. " I have been working too much and I haven't followed through on the promises I've been making. And my not being home has been stressing you out and that's not fair and it's not good for the baby. But—

"Jake, what happened tonight wasn't your fault. Yeah, I've been stressed out about your working so much, but I've been stressed out about a lot of other things too. I have been so stressed about the baby and getting ready for the baby and trying to get Emma potty trained, that it has completely worn me out."

"Well, you're not going to be that stressed or tired again, because I am going to take care of everything. You shouldn't be doing all this stuff by yourself. I feel like such a crappy husband and father lately. But I'm not going to be that anymore. And this time, for the rest of my life, I am going to come through on all the promises I make. And I'll never make a promise I can't keep."

Peyton smiled and said, "Promise?"

Jake chuckled and said, "I promise."

He leaned up over her and kissed her lips several times.

"You really do mean the world to me, Peyton." Jake continued. " You and Jenny and Emma and this baby…you all are my entire life. I don't know what I would do if I ever lost any one of you. I was so scared tonight, Peyton. I was so scared I was going to lose you."

"But you didn't. We're both okay." Peyton said assuring. "I know, but I could've lost you and I don't ever want that to happen. I think I've been taking advantage of everything that I have, but I'm not going to do that anymore. I'm going to take my vacation time now until after the baby is born. And after that, I'm going to talk to Tyler about cutting back my hours. And since I'm his best carpenter and leader, I'm sure he won't mind letting me work less."

"And if does mind?"

"Then I guess he'll lose the best man he's got."

Peyton smiled and said, "I love you, Jake Jielgelski."

"I love you too." Jake said before kissing her hand.


	23. Chapter 23: Congratulations

"So is Peyton coming home today, then?" Nathan asked as he drove himself, Haley and Cooper to his mother's house to pick up James and Andrew.

"Actually, she came home really early this morning." Haley replied. "But Jake said that her doctor wants her on bed rest for a couple of weeks, or until the baby is born. He'll decide if she can be on her feet at her appointment in two weeks."

"Wow." Nathan remarked as he turned the car onto the street on which his mother and stepfather lived. "Well at least she's okay."

"Yeah." Haley agreed. She moved her hands over her stomach as she remembered when she had been in the same position as Peyton was now. When she was pregnant with Cooper, she too had been put on bed rest shortly before he was born and it had been so nerve racking for her. Haley hoped that this time around, with the new life growing inside of her, things would go better and easier.

"Are you okay?" Nathan asked as he pulled in the driveway of his destination.

"Yeah." Haley replied with a sigh. "I was just thinking about something."

"About the baby?" Nathan wondered, turning off the ignition.

Haley nodded her head with a smile, "I'm excited. And I am so relieved and happy that you finally know. And I can't wait to finally have the baby here."

"Neither can I." Nathan replied, smiling. "But until that day comes, we can celebrate. Come on, let's go inside and tell the boys and my mom and Aaron."

Knowing Deb already knew, Haley still said, "Okay." She climbed out of the car with Nathan. She didn't say anything to Nathan about his mother already knowing she was pregnant because she wanted Nathan to feel that thrill and excitement of giving the good news, just like Haley had felt about telling Nathan she was pregnant every single time.

Haley helped Cooper walk up three stairs as she followed Nathan into the large Thomas house. Once up the stairs, they were in the kitchen.

"Big stairs, Momma." Cooper said once he was at the top.

"They are nig huh?" Haley said with a smile.

"Hello?" Nathan called out. " Any body home?"

Andrew and James came running into the kitchen. Andrew hugged Nathan while James hugged Haley first.

"I missed you, Mom." James said. "Andy did too, huh?"

Andrew nodded his head and came over to hug and kiss his mom.

Deb and Aaron both entered the kitchen as Haley replied to her sons, "We missed you both too."

She kissed both their cheeks before standing up again. Nathan picked up James to hug him while Cooper ran over to Aaron, who picked him up. Deb walked over to hug her son.

As she did so, she asked, "So did you two enjoy a night to yourselves minus two children?"

"Yeah, we did." Nathan replied with a smile as he looked over at Haley admiringly.

"For a little while at least." Haley added.

"Why? What happened?" Deb wondered.

"Well, um" Haley began, "Peyton went to the hospital last night for premature labor. But her doctor was able to stop it and she's home now, but she has to stay on bed rest for awhile or until the baby comes."

"Well it's good she's okay." Aaron said with Cooper on his shoulders.

Haley looked over at Nathan, smiled, took his hand and said, "But we did have a great night to ourselves before that."

Deb smiled as she watched her son and daughter-in-law stare at each other and flirt through hand – holding.

"Well you both seem much happier than you have been lately." She stated her observation. "Is there a reason for that?"

Nathan and Haley still smiled and Nathan replied, "We did spend some time talking last night and we understand each other better now."

"That's good." Aaron said as he lowered Cooper back to the floor.

"Yeah, well we have some news too." Nathan finished.

"Really? What?" Deb asked, though she was sure she already knew what he was going to say.

Nathan turned to Haley and asked quietly, "Do you want to tell them or should I?"

"You tell them." Haley said, smiling even harder.

"Just tell us already." Andrew said with a heavy sigh.

"Yeah, you are takin' too long!" James agreed.

Haley chuckled and Nathan said, "Haley is pregnant. We're going to have another baby!"

"Another one?" Andrew gasped, a look of complete surprise on his face.

"Hey congratulations!" Aaron said excitedly as he came over to hug Nathan and Haley.

Deb hugged her son first and said, "Congratulations, honey. I'm so happy you tow finally worked things out."

"Thanks, Mom. So am I."

Aaron finished congratulating Haley, and then moved on to Nathan and Deb squeezed Haley like she had Nathan.

"Congratulations, sweetie." She said. "I am so happy for you guys. And I am so proud of you for telling him."

"Thanks." Haley replied. "But Nathan sort of found out on his own last night and he told me he knew just as I was about to tell him."

"I'm still proud of both of you."

"Thanks."

"Mommy," James said, standing in between Haley and Deb, "Are you really havin' another baby?"

Andrew walked closer to hear the answer as Haley answered, "Yes, I am. And you guys will have a new baby brother or sister."

"Which one?" Andrew wondered. " A brother or a sister."

"Well we don't yet." Nathan said as he picked Cooper up who had been reaching for him.

"When will we know?" James asked.

"Probably in a few weeks." Haley answered.

"Mommy, now Coop is gonna be a big bwother, huh?" James realized.

"Yeah, he is."

"Me? Big bwother?" Cooper said to his father and Nathan nodded his head.

"So going from three kids to four," Aaron said, "that's going to be a pretty big change."

Nathan wrapped his arms around Haley's shoulder and said, "I think we're up for the challenge."


	24. Chapter 24: Still Afraid

Brooke was working on a sketch for a sundress for girls when she noticed a white Explorer pull into her driveway. Mouth climbed out of the SUV and Brooke stood up from the white wicker couch.

"Hey." Mouth said as he approached the porch steps.

"Hey Mouth." Brooke replied. "How's it going?"

"Pretty good." Mouth returned. He seemed a little nervous about something.

"So where's Noelle?"

"Oh, she's with my parents. I had some errands to run."

Brooke nodded her head and asked, "So what's up?"

Mouth pulled his hands out from his jean pockets and stepped up on the porch.

"Well," he said, " I was wondering if you might want to, maybe, have dinner with me this weekend?"

The request surprised Brooke, though she wasn't sure why it did. She remembered Mouth suggesting that they spend time alone together. But this soon? And dinner? Was he suggesting a date? Was she even ready to date again? But he couldn't be asking her out on a date, right? They were just friends. They had been good friends for a while. He probably just wanted to have dinner out somewhere and talk.

"Um, sure." Brooke replied nervously and not completely confident in her answer. "That sounds great."

Mouth sighed relief and said, "Great. So how about Friday night? We can meet at my place and I'll coo k you dinner?"

"Wow, you cook?" Brooke said, with a smile.

"My dad taught me. So what do you say? Friday night? Seven o'clock?"

Maybe he was asking her on a date. She already said yes. It would be okay, wouldn't it?

"Sure." She agreed again.

"Great." Mouth said, smiling and less nervous. "Okay, well then I'd better go. I have some more things to do, but I'll call you later about Friday."

"Okay." Brooke said as Mouth stepped off the porch. "I'll talk to you late, I guess."

Jake peeked in the bedroom, before pushing open the door and walked inside the master bedroom with a tray of food and a mug of dandelions, fresh picked from the grass outside. He put the tray on Peyton's dresser and sat down on the bed. He smiled as he watched his wife sleep. He moved her blond hair from her face, kissed her lips, and then whispered, "Rise and shine, gorgeous. It's time to wake up."

Slowly, Peyton began to awaken. She smiled when she saw Jake smiling back at her.

"Good morning. " He said. "Did you sleep well?"

" I certainly did." Peyton replied as she sat up. " Did you?"

"Oh, of course. I was sleeping next to you."

Peyton smiled and she and Jake both leaned in for a kiss.

When they stopped, Jake stood up and said, "Okay, are you ready for breakfast?"

"Wow, breakfast in bed? I must be really special."

"You are." Jake said as he set the tray over Peyton's legs.

"Ooh, yum." Peyton said. "This smells so-ow!"

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"Calm down, Jake, I'm okay. The baby just kicked really hard and it surprised me."

Jake smiled and Peyton chuckled.

" So I'm taking the girls out to lunch and a movie with my parents today." Jake said as he sat down again. " Are you going to be okay here by yourself?"

"Yeah." Peyton replied through a mouthful of scrambled eggs. " I can work on the strip I have due for the magazine and if I get bored I'll just watch some TV or listen to some music."

"Are you sure you won't get lonely? I feel bad about leaving you home alone in bed."

"Oh, but I won't be alone. This baby is pretty active today, apparently. I'll be fine, honey. Besides, Brooke and Haley said they were going to come see me today. You just go and have fun with the kids today."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you too." Peyton said before kissing Jake again.

"Knock, knock." Haley said loudly as she and Brooke entered Peyton's home.

"In the bedroom." They heard Peyton bellow from down the hall. She tossed her sketchbook aside on the end table and waited for her friends to enter her bedroom. Finally, they did.

"Hey guys." She said as she adjusted her pillows.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Haley asked as she set her purse and keys on Peyton's dresser.

"I feel great. How about you?" Peyton asked as Haley sat at the foot of the bed and Brooke sat down next to Peyton.

"Pretty good for being twelve weeks pregnant." Haley replied. "However, I am a little anxious about how much I'm showing this much already. I mean, this could be a big baby if it's already proving its existence at three months. Unless I'm further along than I was told. Or it's twins. God, that'd bring so much more worry."

Peyton and Brooke both chuckled and Peyton said, " Hey, at least you don't look like I do. I'm huge."

"I don't know. At the rate I'm going, I could be bigger than you are at eight months."

"You'd better be careful then or that growing baby of yours might let daddy know that he's going to be a daddy again." Brooke said.

Haley smiled and said, " Oh yeah, that's right. Well, I don't have to worry, actually, because Nathan is excited about becoming a daddy again."

"What? You told him?" Peyton asked, a smile spreading across her face."

"Sort of."

"What do you mean sort of?" Brooke asked with a chuckle.

"Well he, um, he accidentally found my last sonogram photo and confronted me with it right before I was about to finally tell him."

"Awe," Peyton chanted, "Well, at least he knows now, right?"

"Yes. And I am so glad he does. We spent hours talking that night and we understand each other now. And it turns out, Nathan has wanted another baby just as much as I have."

"That's great, Hales." Brooke said.

"Thanks." Haley replied with a smile. "So, what are we going to do today?"

"I don't know." Peyton answered. " I'm up for anything at this point."

"Oh, I know what we can do." Brooke announced. "I need some ideas for a them for Lilly's fifth birthday party in a couple of weeks."

"Oh yeah, " Peyton remembered. " Wow, I can't believe she's turning five already."

"You can't? What about me? I'm her mother and I fell so strange as the mother of a five year old. My baby is growing up so fast."

She rested her head on Peyton's shoulder and Peyton patted her as if she were a dog seeking affection.

"Well maybe you could do like a Tea Party or butterfly and fairy themed party or something else she's really into right now." Haley suggested.

" Yeah, that's what I was thinking too." Brooke said. " Maybe I'll do that whole fairy thing. She's really, really into that right now. Well, besides dogs, which she's been into since she was two."?

"Oh, well then maybe you should invite all the dogs in the neighborhood and have a dog themed party." Peyton said, smiling widely.

" I don't think so. One dog is enough."

"Um, Brooke, " Haley said, "You don't have a dog."

"No, but I will in a couple of weeks." Brooke sighed. " Lilly has been begging me for months to get her a dog and I've been putting it off."

"James has been begging Nathan and I for a dog too." Haley mentioned.

"Well anyway, you guys know Kate from work? Well, I was telling her I wanted to get a dog for Lilly, but I didn't know what kind to get or where to get one, and she said that her dog just had a litter of puppies and one puppy still needs a home. So she offered the puppy to me for free."

"Wow, that's great." Haley said.

"Yeah, great deal, huh?" Brooke said, smiling.

"What kind of puppy is it?" Peyton wondered.

"I think she said it is a Yorkshire terrier."

"Oh, those dogs are so cute!" Haley said excitedly. " And they're small too. Perfect for her age."

"Really?" Brooke said, squinting her eyes. "I've never heard of them until now. But I'm picking her up next week."

"Wow, Lilly is going to love you." Peyton said.

"She already loves me. She's just going to be very happy this particular birthday. Speaking of Lilly, um, are either of you free on Friday night?"

"I'll be home, obviously." Peyton said, resting her hands on her stomach.

"Nathan and I will be home too, but my parents are going to be in town for the weekend and they're staying with us so they can have more time to visit."

"Why?" Peyton asked Brooke. " Do you need someone to watch Lilly?"

"Yeah," Brooke replied, nodding her head, "and I would've asked Karen and Keith, but they're leaving for Charleston tomorrow for the whole weekend."

"Well she can hang out here with Jake and me and the girls."

"Are you sure? Because I know you're not supposed to handle stress right now and I can always cancel—

"No," Peyton interrupted, " don't cancel. It'll be fine having Lilly here for a couple of hours, even if it's Jenny watching her. Jenny wants to start babysitting and maybe watching Lilly while we're here too would be a good way for her to start. Okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Brooke sighed. "If it's okay with you, it's okay with me."

"So where are you going anyway?" Haley wondered.

"Nowhere." Brooke replied. "I'm hanging out here with you guys."

Peyton and Haley glanced at each other, and then looked back at Brooke.

Peyton laughed and said, "On Friday, Brooke. You said you need someone to watch Lilly for you Friday night. What are you doing?"

"Oh, yeah, that. Sorry. Well, um…I'm sort of having dinner with Mouth."

Haley and Peyton smiled again and Peyton said, "Wow…and would this be like a dinner date?"

"No." Brooke answered immediately. " I mean, yeah, maybe…oh, I don't even know if it is or isn't. Mouth just asked to have dinner with him on Friday night."

"That sounds like a date to me." Haley said.

"Not necessarily." Brooke tried to argue. "It could just be two good friends having dinner."

"Brooke," Peyton said calmly, "Calm down. Why does it matter if this a date or not?"

Brooke sighed, "I don't know."

"Because of Lucas maybe?" Haley suggested understandably.

Brooke thought about it for a minute, the replied, " Yeah, I guess it is. But I don't think I know exactly why it's because of him that I feel weird, considering Lilly and I have been spending time with Mouth and Noelle since the reunion."

"Yeah, but now it's dinner alone with Mouth." Peyton reminded.

"So what? I mean, I used to spend time alone with Mouth all the time in high school. Why does it scare me so much now?"

"In high school, Lucas was alive." Haley began to explain. " And you hadn't realized you were in love with Lucas yet. Your feelings now are different then they were back then. Maybe you have a little more than feelings of friendship for Mouth now and that is making you nervous because you still love Lucas."

Brooke had been staring at Haley with her eyebrows furrowed in thought as she digested everything her sister-in-law explained to her.

"Wow, uh, you know me really well, don't you?" She said.

"We both do." Peyton said. " You're like our sister. So we understand why you're afraid to go out and be alone with Mouth. But you shouldn't let your love for Lucas keep you from acting on your feelings for Mouth because your love for Lucas will never go away."

Brooke leaked tears as she listened to her friends.

"She's right, Brooke. " Haley said. "You should go out with a Mouth and Friday night and have a good time. You want to, don't you?"

Brooke nodded her head and wiped tears from her cheeks and said, " Maybe, yeah, I think so." She said. " But I still love Lucas so much. I have never cared about anyone like I cared about Lucas and I never want to let him go or let go of everything I had with hi. I can't let him go. I can never forget him and I don't want to."

"You don't have to sweetie." Haley said softly as she moved up closer to Brooke and Peyton. " And you won't. It is so unbelievably impossible to forget a guy like Lucas, especially for you. And wherever he is now, I know that he knows how much you love him. But I also know that he would want you to do this."

"But how do you know that? And more, how do I know that?"

"You have to believe it." Peyton answered. "But deep down inside that big heart of yours, you already know. Don't run away from your feelings Brooke. You did that once with Lucas, remember? And you were so unhappy until you told him how you felt. So just give this thing with Mouth a chance. Otherwise, you'll spend the rest of your life wondering what have happened and how he could've changed your life."

Brooke sniffled and said, "Thanks, you guys."

"Always." Haley said before she and Peyton both hugged Brooke.


	25. Chapter 25: Explaining & Catching Up

"Mommy, where are we goin' tonight?" Lilly asked from Brooke's bed as she watched her mother walk in and out of her large walk-in closet.

"You are going over to Peyton and Jake's so Jenny can watch you and I am going to have dinner with Mouth." Brooke laid out another dress on her bed.

"How come I can't come with you, Momma? I always go with you to see Mouth and Noelle."

"Noelle isn't going to be there either, honey." Brooke said as she entered her bathroom to finish getting ready. "She's going to be at her grandparent's house."

"But why can't we both eat dinner with you and Mouth too? Lilly asked as she stood up on the bed.

Brooke let her shoulder length hair fall out of the towel and she said, "Because we want to be alone so we can talk about grown up stuff. It's a date."

As she spoke those words, Brooke realized she's never explained dating to her daughter before. She'd never needed to.

"What is a date?" Lilly asked as Brooke reentered the bedroom.

Brooke lifted Lilly off the bed, sat down where she had been standing in her bare feet, and set her daughter on her lap.

"A date, Lilly, is when two people, or two really good friends who like each other go out by themselves to talk and spend time alone so they can get to know each other."

Lilly crossed her eyes brows like Brooke always did when she was confused and she said, "But you and Mouth already know each other. You knowed him from high school, 'member?"

Brooke sighed, " Yes, sweetie. You're right. But Mouth and I only know each other from high school. We want to spend some time alone so that we can learn more about each other's lives now. And it will be easier for us to do that without you and Noelle there giggling all night."

Lilly smiled and said, " Okay, Mom. But I have another question."

"Okay, shoot."

"Did you and my daddy go out on dates too."?

Brooke smiled as she remembered all her dates with Lucas, and the times they skipped to the after the date part and she replied, "Yes, we did. We dated a lot."

"Do you love Mouth like you loved daddy?"

Brooke frowned and said, "Well, I really like Mouth but I will never love anyone in the same way I loved your dad. And no one can ever take the place of you dad, okay."

"Okay."

Brooke kissed her daughter's head, stood up and put Lilly back on the bed.

"Now," she said as she held up a knee length, red halter-top strap dress on a hanger and a short, spaghetti strap dress on another hanger, "Which one of these dresses do you think I should wear tonight?"

"Umm…" Lilly hummed as she tapped her finger on her chin and thought. "The red one!"

"Good choice. Thanks baby."

"You welcome."

Ding Dong!

Smiling, Haley walked towards the front door with Cooper in her arms.

"Gamma, gampa, here?" Cooper asked.

"I think so." Haley replied as she reached the door. "Let's find out."

Haley opened the door with a big smiled and found her parents, Jimmy and Julie James on the other side.

"Haley bob!" Her mother shouted excitedly as she hugged her daughter and grandson.

"Hi, Mom." Haley replied with a chuckle just before letting go. Her mother took Cooper and kissed his cheeks making him giggle. Haley hugged her father and the rest of the family entered the living room.

"Hi, Daddy." Haley said, still smiling when she hugged her father.

"Hi, sweetheart." Jimmy replied as they pulled away. He looked her up and down and said, " You look beautiful honey. You look a little different too."

Haley's mother heard his statement and she glanced down at Haley's stomach and said, "Goodness, darlin' you're right. She does look different. Absolutely glowing, I think."

Nathan stepped up at Haley's side and they both smiled as Haley's mother said to her husband, " Well, good gracious Jimmy, I think these two may be expecting again."

Nathan and Haley smiled even wider and Jimmy said, "I think you're right. It seems that way. So have you two been busy?"

Haley chuckled and said, " Yes, Dad. We are expecting again and we are thrilled."

"Well congratulations, honey." Jimmy said, hugging Haley again and kissing her cheek.

Haley's mother, Julie, hugged her daughter again and said, " Congratulations, baby. I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks."

"Mom," Andrew said, after hugging his grandfather, "I'm hungry. When are we ordering' the pizza?"

"I'm hungry too." James said.

"I already ordered the pizza, guys." Nathan said, closing the front door. "It'll be here in awhile."

"Great, pizza, can't wait." Jimmy said as he sat down next to James on the couch.

"Well I guess we can catch up while we wait." Haley suggested as she followed her mother and Nathan to sit down. " I missed you guys so much and I want to hear about your travels."

"We missed you too, Haley bob." Julie said, finally putting Cooper down. " And apparently, we have some catching up to do too."


	26. Chapter 26: The Date Night

Brooke walked up to the door at Mouth's townhouse home. Nervously, she banged the knocker on the tall red door. Not even a minute later, Mouth opened the door, dressed nicely in black slacks and a white button up, collar shirt.

"Hey Brooke," he greeted, "come on in."

"Thanks." Brooke said as she stepped inside and Mouth closed the door. " You look really nice, Mouth."

"Thanks, but you look…incredible."

Brooke blushed and after another moment of silence, Mouth asked, " So would you like some wine…or something else?"

Wine or something else? Brooke thought. Wine…Mouth all dressed up for me…this is a little weird. She'd never tried romance with anyone but Lucas before. And wine, dinner alone in Mouth's home, with fancy clothes was definitely romantic. Yet, she was standing here in a fancy red dress as well. So this must be what she wanted.

"Wine sounds great." She replied, smiling.

"Here you go, Lilly." Jenny said as returned to the living room with a bowl of popcorn.

"Thank you." Lilly replied, taking the bowl as Jenny sat next to her on the floor.

Jenny took a few pieces of the popcorn and asked, "So what do you want to do?"

"I don't know." Lilly replied through a mouthful as she shrugged.

"Well we could watch a movie or play a game or color…"

"Let's play Barbie's!" Lilly said excitedly as she stood up. " I brought some with me!"

"Okay." Jenny replied to Lilly, who was already returning with a suitcase of Barbie dolls.

"Wow…you sure have a lot." Jenny remarked after Lilly opened the bright pink case.

"I like Barbie's a lot." Lilly reasoned. As she pulled out two adult Barbie's and several Kelley, Tommy, and Ken dolls, Lilly said, "Jenny, did you know my mommy went out on a date tonight?"

"Yeah, my mom told me." Jenny replied as she picked up a Barbie.

"My mom likes Mouth, but not as much as she liked my daddy. She really loved my daddy and no one can ever take his place."

Jenny smiled and Lilly asked, " Jenny, did you know my dad?"

"Uh, huh." Jenny said nodding her head. " Your dad Lucas was a really fun guy. I don't remember much about him because I was only seven when he died. But I remember him a little."

"What do you a 'member?" Lilly asked curiously, no longer interested in her Barbie dolls.

"Well…I know he used to play basketball on the same team as my dad and your uncle Nathan. And he liked playing basketball on the River Court too."

"Ooh, I like that place! Uncle Nathan takes me and James and Andy there sometimes."

"Yeah, well our parents used to hang out there when they were in high school. I know Lucas loved that place."

Lilly frowned and said, "Man, I really wish I could know him. I only have pictures of him, but pictures can't talk to me or play basketball with me."

"I know Lilly. And I'm sorry you never got to meet him. But he's always with you and he'll always love you cause you're his baby."

Jenny wrapped her arm around Lilly's shoulder and continued, " And you know what else? If you really want to meet your dad, you can meet him in your dreams."

Really? How do I do that?"

"Well, first you have to concentrate really hard on where you will go in your dream right before you go to sleep. Then you have to think really hard about whom you want to see in your dream. Once you have the place and person stuck in your mind, you let yourself fall asleep and dream."

Lilly stared up at Jenny admiringly and said, "Wow…that sounds really easy. I think I'm gonna try that. Thanks."

"You're welcome. You just make sure to tell Lucas hi from me, okay?"

Lilly nodded her head and hugged Jenny.

Brooke sat across the table from Mouth in his dining room. The mood around them was nice, simple and romantic with dim lighting, candles on the table, and soft music playing in the background.

"This is all so nice, Mouth." Brooke said, laying her fork down on her plate and it made a clank. "And the roast was wonderful."

"Thank you." Mouth replied. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. But I have to be honest…I've been nervous about tonight since I asked you out and I was really surprised that you said yes."\

Wow, Brooke thought. Mouth was nervous too?

"Really? Why?" She asked.

"Lots of reasons, I guess. You and I were good friends in high school and we've been good friends again since the reunion and I don't want to mess up our friendship. But I've mostly been nervous and afraid about this because of Lucas. He was my best friend and I feel guilty about liking you so much because of that. And I know how much you loved him and how you must still really miss him. And as much as I like you, I was afraid to ask you out because I was almost certain you'd turn me down because of Lucas."

"Brooke was relieved to hear that she was not the only one nervous about tonight. And she was even more surprised to learn that Mouth was afraid for almost the same reasons she was. She was afraid to act on her feelings for Mouth because she thought it meant her feelings for Lucas would disappear or that he would be angry with her. And he had been afraid to ask her out because he sensed she would turn him down because of her feelings for Lucas. Maybe they had more in common than she thought. And now…maybe there wasn't much to be afraid of.

Brooke smiled and said, "It's strange to me that you were so nervous about tonight considering you asked me out. But now I understand why you were afraid. And you're right…I was nervous about tonight too because of Lucas. He was my first and only true love. But I know that I can't ever forget him or what I felt for him. And I have to be honest now too. I have been crushing on you for awhile, especially after tonight."

Mouth chuckled and Brooke continued, "So if you like me like I like you, then I think we should act on those feelings. And if you're up for it too, I'm willing to trust this thing we've got going on and not be afraid of it anymore."

Mouth considered, smiled and said, " I am too."

Brooke smiled before offering a toast of wine to tonight.

Jake returned to the bedroom and closed the door behind him.

"The girls okay?" Peyton asked as Jake climbed on the bed next to her.

"Yeah," Jake replied, kicking off his slippers and wrapping his arms around Peyton. " Jenny just put in a movie for Lilly and Emma is fast asleep in her crib."

"Good." Peyton said, resting her head on Jake's chest." That little girl had a big day today."

"Yes she did. Learning to use the potty is a big step a two year old."

Peyton chuckled, " Yeah, but I don't think she's got it down quite yet. Today was the first time. It's going to take her a few months."

"Oh well, she'll learn when she learns. Until then, we'll have twice the amount of diapers. I have a feeling this may end up being simpler than we are anticipating."

Jake smiled and rubbed Peyton's bulging stomach.

"Well I am certainly ready to meet this baby. You know, now that I finally have the nursery finished."

"Right," Peyton laughed, "I can't wait to see it tomorrow. And hopefully doctor Byrnes will let me off bed rest after my appointment next week. That way I can help you put the rest of the baby things in the nursery."

"Well even if he does let you off bed rest, I don't want you worrying about any of that big stuff. You stick to sorting baby clothes and choosing names and let me handle the nursery and furniture."

"Fine."

"So speaking of baby names, do you have any picked out yet?"

"I do actually. For a boy, I've always loved the name Hunter Matthew and for a girl, I really like the name Riley Anna."

"Those sound like fitting names. They both have a nice ring to them. So do you think we will be adding Hunter Matthew or Riley Anna to our family?"

"I'm not sure. But we'll find out in a few weeks, won't we?"

"Well I hope you enjoyed yourself tonight." Mouth said as he walked with Brooke to the front door.

"I did." Brooke said with a smile. " I had a wonderful time. Who knew you could be so romantic?"

Mouth laughed. They stared at each other quietly for a moment before Mouth asked, "So do you think we could go out again sometime?"

Brooke smiled and replied, "I'd say you'd better ask me out again, if you know what's good for you."

They smiled at each other in quiet again. As if both of them were reading each other's thoughts, both Mouth and Brooke leaned in for their first goodnight kiss.


	27. Chapter 27: Dreams of Daddy

**ONE WEEK LATER**

"Everything looks much better, Peyton." Doctor Byrnes said as he turned off the ultra sound machine. " I think the bed rest has done you well."

"Good." Peyton said as Jake helped her sit up. "Does that mean I can be off bed rest now?"

"Well I don't recommend you do too much running around, but yes, I think it's safe for you to be off your feet, as long as you stay stress free. And you shouldn't be on your feet more than and hour at a time. You still need to rest some until that baby is born."

"Don't worry, doctor," Jake said, "she will."

"Come on Lilly, time for bed." Brooke said as she turned off the television, in front of which Lilly had planted herself an hour earlier.

"But I can't go to sleep, Mommy," Lilly replied as she stood up, "I'm too excited about tomorrow. I'm turnin' five tomorrow a 'member?"

"Yes, I remember. But every five year old needs her rest. Now come on, mommy is tired too."

Brooke followed Lilly down to her bedroom. Lily climbed under her pink comforter and Brooke sat on the edge of her bed to tuck her in.

"Mommy, is Mouth and Noelle comin' to my party tomorrow too?"

"Of course. They wouldn't miss it. Now, come on, time to go to sleep."

"We have to sing the song first, or I can't sleep."

"I know. So let's sing. You start."

Lilly began the first verse to the "Goodnight" lullaby song that Brooke had been singing to her for years. It was the song Lucas and Haley had written for Lilly when Brooke was pregnant. After they'd finished singing, Lilly asked, "Mommy, when did daddy and Aunt Haley write that song?"

"After your daddy and I found out we were going to have you."

Lilly turned her head to look at the picture frame with a photo of Lucas inside. The nshe looked at Brooke and said, "I'm going to meet him tonight, Mommy. My daddy…I'm going to meet him in my dreams."

Brooke smiled and stroked her daughter's head. She was so much like her father. Tears in her eyes, Brooke said, "Then I'd better let you get some sleep so you can have all night to dream with him."

"Hey Lilly," Noelle said as the girls climbed off the swings, "let's go ask your mom if you can open presents."

Lilly had her attention on the black top straight ahead of her. she wanted to play over there. For some reason, felt she needed to walk over there.

"Lilly, come on." Noelle spoke again.

Lilly turned to Noelle and said, "Go ahead. I'll come in a minute."

Noelle shrugged and kept running over to the picnic table where the party guests were gathered. Lilly continued straight ahead and stepped onto the blacktop of the River Court. She looked up at the basket ball hoop above her. the nshe looked over at the water. The wind was pushing the flow a bit harder today. Glancing at the old picnic table, Lilly spotted a basketball laying under the bench. She walked over and picked up the ball.

"How did this get here?" She said to herself, examining the ball. "This is daddy's ball."

Lilly bounced the ball a few times and stopped to look up at the hoop.

"Would you like me to show you how to shoot?"

Lilly quickly turned, startled by the voice. She stared at the tall, blond man in front of her and remembered him from the picture she kept next to her bed.

"Daddy." She whispered, though Lucas must've heard here because he smiled, knelt down and said, "Happy birthday Lilly."

Lilly smiled and said, "You know who I am?"

"Of course I do." Lucas replied. "I could never not know this face. You're the most beautiful, most adorable five year old I've ever met. And you look so much like your mother."

Lilly glanced way over across the grass where her mother was smiling and talking to Karen. Then she looked back at her father and asked, "Do you want me to go get her?"

Lucas, too, looked over at Brooke before looking back at his little girl and replying, "No. today is just about you and me. We've got a lot of catching up to do."

Lilly smiled and Lucas asked, "So uncle Nathan has taught you how to play HORSE, right?"

Lilly nodded her head and they played HORSE. Everybody seemed to disapper to Lilly as she bonded with her father. And after she beat Lucas, Lilly was out of breath.

"That…was fun." She said, sitting down on the table bench. Lucas walked over and sat next to her.

"Yes it was." He said. "You're a pretty good ball player, you know. You must have gotten my talent."

"Uncle Nathan taught me how to play really good. He brings me and James and Andrew here and we play."

"Yeah…Nathan is a great player."

"Thanks for coming here today, Daddy. I really wanted to meet you."

"I know you did. And I'm sorry you never got to know me or meet me. Had I the choice, I would've been there for you and your mom."

"I know, Dad. It wasn't your fault. It was that bad man's fault for driving whe nhe shouldn't have been. I just wish I could see you more in my real life too."

"So do I, but it's time for me to go back."

Lucas stood up, as did Lilly. She dropped the basketball and began to cry, "No! You can't go yet. You just got here!"

Lucas kneeled down in front of her and tried to calm his daughter.

"Shh…Lilly, it's okay. I'll always be with you."

"N-no you won't . N-not f-for m-me to s-see."

"Sure I will. You can see me in your dreams just like you're doing now. "I'll never fully leave you Lilly. You're my little angel and I love you."

"Please d-don't go D-Daddy. I'll m-miss you."

"I know you will, sweetie. I'll miss you too. but you have a big day tomorrow and you need your rest. So how about you give me a big hug and I promise you'll feel better."

Lilly threw her arms around Lucas and they squeezed each other tight.

"I love you Daddy." She said before pecking Lucas's cheek.

"I love you too, angel." Lucas said with tears as he stroked his little girl's head. "I'll always be with you…"

Lilly woke with a start and sat up in her bed. She looked over the pictures of her father and smiled. Then, she climbed out of bed and ran to Brooke's room. She climbed onto the bed and whispered in her mother's ear."

"Wake up Mommy, it's morning."

Brooke slowly rolled over and opened her eyes. Lilly sat herself on Brooke's leg, smiled and said, "I'm five years old today, Mommy."

"I know, I was there when you were born. So how does it feel to be five years old? Do you feel like a big girl?"

"A little, but mostly I still feel like I'm four."

Brooke chuckled and said, "Well maybe after the party and all those presents you'll feel like you're five."

"Maybe, but I already got the bestest present ever."

Brooke stared at Lilly suspiciously and asked, "Did you sneak a peek in my closet?"

"Huh, uh. I had a dream and my daddy was there!"

Brooke smiled and said, "He was?"

"Yup, and he's the greatest dad, the greatest guy in the whole world."

"Yes…he really was."


	28. Chapter 28: Surprises

"Ah, Nathan…" Doctor Tate said when she entered the exam room where Haley and Nathan had been waiting, "it's good to see you finally at an appointment this time around."

Nathan and Haley both smiled and Nathan replied, "Thanks, it's good to be here."

"So," Haley began, "why did you want to move up the appointment? Is something wrong?"

"With you and the baby? No." Doctor Tate answered. "However, a few weeks ago, we discovered there was virus in our computer system that sort of stayed hidden for quite awhile. So some of the information gathered at your first few appointments may not be entirely accurate if it was entered in the computer."

"Like what?" Haley wondered.

"Well like the day of your due date and exactly how far along you are. That may be inaccurate because it is all put into the computer. But we got rid of the virus and we just got some brand new equipment, so I would like to double check everything that we have done that is usually done at the first appointment. Is that okay?"

"Sure, fine with me."

"I thought it would be, so I already rechecked your due date on my computer, and as it turns out, you are definitely a bit further along in your pregnancy than we thought."

Haley glanced at Nathan and looked back at the doctor, smiled and asked, "Well, how much further?"

"According to the old results, you would be at almost 14 weeks now, right? Well, after checking again, it turns out you are actually at 19 weeks."

Nathan and Haley looked at each other with surprise.

"Wow…" Nathan said," nineteen weeks."

"Well that explains why I'm showing so much already." Haley said. " I was beginning to think I was pregnant with twins. Wait…I'm not, right?"

Doctor Tate smiled and said, " I don't think so. We didn't have any problems with the ultra sound, just the computers. The virus on the computer system just seemed to screw up all the information entered into it. But I'd like to take a lokk at the baby anyway, and see how he or she is doing."

The doctor prepared the ultra sound machine while Haley laid back on the table. Doctor Tate squeezed the gel on Haley's stomach and Haley shivered.

"Sorry." Doctor Tate chuckled as she turned on the machine. Nathan stood next to Haley's head and they both watched the screen as the doctor searched for the baby.

"Ah, here we go." Doctor Tate said as she turned up the volume so the heart beat could be heard. She adjusted the screen so Nathan and Haley could see. "Good strong heartbeat…very healthy weight…everything looks great."

"Good." Haley sighed relief. " I can feel a lot of movement too. he or she is very active."

"It looks that way. So I guess my next question is the…would you two like to know the sex of the baby?"

Nathan and Haley smiled at each other again.

"I don't think I can wait four months to find out." Haley said.

"Me either." Nathan agreed. " We've had enough surprised to last us that long."

"Okay then." Doctor Tate said with a smile. "Give me just a minute and we will see just who it is we will be meeting very soon."

Haley breathed in and out and took Nathan's hand in hers as they waited excitedly.

"Mommy, look!" Lilly shouted excitedly, running off the front porch. "James and Andy and Coop are here! And Deb too!"

Brooke smiled as she followed Lilly to greet more party guests.

"Hey Deb." She said approaching her. "Thanks for coming."

"Of course. James wouldn't let me forget." Deb replied.

Brooke chuckled and the nasked, "So, um, where's Aaron and the parents of these three party animals?"

Well Aaron can't make it, he's still on shift at the hospital. But Nathan and Haley will be here shortly. They ad a doctor's appointment to go to first."

"Oh, that's right. Well, come on over then and have some snack. Pizza should be here shortly."

Deb and Brooke walked over to the picnic table where Peyton and Jake were making out…again.

"Hey, you two," Brooke said, smiling, "this is a kids party. Let's keep it G-rated."

Jake and Peyton stopped and smiled.

"Hey everyone." Mouth said as he walked up behind Brooke while Noelle ran over to Lilly.

Brooke turned around instantly with a wide smile on her face.

"Hey." She said as Mouth finally reached her.

"Hey yourself." Mouth said as he leaned down to kiss Brooke.

Brooke gave in to his kiss while Jake, Peyton and Deb watched them with smiles.

"Hey!" Peyton called out to them. When they didn't stop, Jake laughed and Peyton threw a pretzel at them.

Brooke pulled away and said, "What?"

Peyton chuckled and mocked, "It's a kids party. Let's keep it G-rated. You guys are grossing us out here."

Brooke and Mouth both laughed as they sat down next to each other on the swing attached to a tall tree.

"So where are Karen and Keith?" Deb asked, letting Cooper down and he ran over to play in the sandbox.

"Walking this way with the pizza." Jake said, looking over at the side of the house where Karen and Keith were walking towards them with three large pizzas.

"I'll gather the kids." Mouth said, standing up again and walking over to the swing set.

While the others gathered around the picnic table and started on the pizza, Nathan and Haley finally arrived. Nathan turned off the ignition and looked over at Haley. She was staring at him with a heavy smile. He returned the smile.

"We're late for the party." He said.

"Who cares?" Haley replied happily, still smiling.

"Lilly, probably."

"She's five years old. I don't think she'll notice. I love Lilly, but I really feel like driving away and having a private party with you."

"Well, I haven't pulled the keys out yet."

Haley laughed and then squealed excitedly, "We're having a little girl! Can you believe it?"

"I'm so happy. I know how much you wanted a little girl. It'll be different in a good way."

"I do. And I can't wait to have her here. I want to meet her so badly."

"Well in four months you can."

Haley touched Nathan's face and said, "She's going to fall straight in love with you. Little girls love their daddies so much."

Nathan took Haley's hand and said, "And I know I'll love her too. she's our little girl."

After the pizza, there was more playtime for the kids and talk time for the adults.

"So are you two ever going to tell us how the appointment went?"

Peyton asked. "You've been sitting here chomping down on pizza since you got here."

Nathan and Haley smiled at each other again. Haley moved her hand to her stomach and said, "Well, we did get some interesting news."

"What's that?" Deb wondered, accepting a Diet Coke from Karen.

"Well, that I'm actually five months pregnant as opposed to three."

"Whoa," Brooke said as she cuddled with Mouth, "how'd they mess up that one?"

"Virus in the computer systems." Nathan answered, wrapping his arms around Haley's round waist and letting her lean into him.

"How about what you went there for?" Karen said. "Did you find out the sex of the baby?"

"Yes we did." Haley replied before smiling up at Nathan. He smiled back and they both looked back at their friends and family.

Haley finished, "In four months, we will be the parents of a brand new baby girl."

"Finally." Keith said, smiling and Nathan laughed.

Everybody congratulated Nathan and Haley and the kids returned to them.

"Mommy," Lilly said when she reached Brooke, "can I open presents now?"

"Sure, baby. It's your party." Brooke said as she stood up from next to Mouth.

"I'll go get the camera." Mouth offered as he too stood up.

"Oh, thanks, babe." Brooke said. " I forgot to bring it out. It's on the kitchen counter."

Mouth went inside for the camera while Brooke and Karen and Deb moved the presents to the center of the table for Lilly to open. When Mouth returned, Lilly started on the first present from Haley, Nathan and the kids. it was a Polly Pocket playset and a denim skirt with butterflies embroidered on it and a purple tank top with a big butterfly in the middle. From Peyton, Jake and Jenny, Lilly received a BRATZ doll and a new pink and purple leotard with butterflies on it. Deb bought Lilly a blue and red summer dress with the word CHEER across it. Keith and Karen bought a new charm for the bracelet they bought for Lilly on her first birthday. This year's charm was a fairy with Lilly engraved on it. Finally, Lilly reached Brooke's present in the princess wrapping paper.

While Lilly began ripping the paper off the box, Keith whispered to Brooke, "Should I go get her from the garage?"

Brooke nodded her head, still smiling as she watched her daughter tear off the paper. Lilly reached the box inside and keith walked quickly to the garage. Lilly excitedly opened the box and found a pink dog collar with silver gemstones around it. Also in the box was a pink leash and two silver bowls bowls for food and water.

Lilly held the leash and collar in her hands, looked up at Brooke and said, "Mommy, these are really pretty, but we don't have a doggy."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Brooke said just as Keith was leaving the garage. "I must've brought out the wrong present."

Lilly looked over at Keith and noticed he was carrying a medium brown packing box.

"What is that, gramps?" Lilly asked when he rejoined the rest of the group gathered around the table.

Keith set the box down on the table and Lilly peaked at the side and noticed wholes cut on the side of the box.

"It's a present your mom forgot to bring out." He replied. "Go ahead and take a look inside."

The adults all watched Lilly with smiles and the children watched with just as much curiosity. As Lilly opened the flaps of the box, her jaw dropped when she saw the puppy inside. The children, especially James, gasped too when they saw the Yorkie peek her head out, a pink bow wrapped around her neck.

"A puppy!" Lilly shouted as she picked it up. "ommy, you got me a puppy?"

"Happy birthday, Lilly." Brooke said with a wider smile.

"Thank you so much. Mom!" Lilly ran over to Brooketo hug her with the dog wriggling in her arms.

"You're welcome, baby." Brooke said, hugging her daughter back.

"I want a dog like you gots Lilly." James said as he pet the dog.

"Maybe you will get one soon too." Lilly said. "Come on, let's go play with her and think of some names."

The kids walked over to an empty area of grass to play with the dog while, Brooke, Karen, Keith, Deb and Nathan started to clean up.

"I'm going to go see if Emma is awake yet." Jake said, standing up from a lawn chair.

"Okay." Peyton said as she slowly stood up from her chair."

"Hey, where are you going?" Jake asked.

"Jake, chill out." Peyton said as she reached for her purse. "I'm just getting my purse so we can go."

"You're ready to go home already?" Jake asked, walking back over to her.

"Yeah, I'm kind of tired and we need to stop by the hospital too."

Everybody looked over at Peyton and Jake said, "Why? Is something wrong?"

_"No, but my water did just break about ten minutes ago, so I think it's a necessary stop."_


	29. Chapter 29: Lovin It

Brooke followed Haley and Nathan and Jenny off the elevator while carrying Emma. They walked down the hall of the maternity ward and met Larry Sawyer in the waiting rooom. He saw them and stood up.

"Hey," he said as they got closer.

"Where's mom, grandpa?" Jenny asked. "Did she have the baby yet?"

"No, not yet. At least I don't think she did." Larry replied.

"How is Peyton?" Brooke wondered. "Any news?"

"Not in awhile. Jake is in with her and he hasn't been out in awhile, so I think it's going to be soon. He said he would come tell us when they take her down to delivery. Let's she, the doctor said she was at like four centimeters when he brought her in, and the last time Jake was out here, she had progressed to seven in like 30 minutes time."

"Wow, she is moving fast." Haley said.

"Do you need anything, Mr. Sawyer?" Nathan asked.

"No thanks, I'm good. Although, I could use some company."

"We'll keep you company granddad." Jenny said as she followed Larry to the chairs. Everyone else followed and sat down. After about fifteen minutes, Jake returned to the waiting room. Brooke and Larry and Jenny stood up, while Nathan and Haley leaned forward to listen.

"Okay," Jake said with a smile, "they're prepping her for delivery and she'll start pushing and we will have a baby very, very soon."

"Wow, already?" Brooke said amazed.

"Yeah, things are going really fast and really smooth, just like they did with Emma."

A nurse stopped at the end of the hall and called out to Jake, "Mr. Jielgelski, we're ready for you."

Jake looked back at his friends, smiled wider and said, "This is it guys…I'm going to be a dad again."

Everyone smiled and as Jake started to walk away, Nathan said, "Good luck."

After being in labor for hours, and pushing for fifteen minutes, Peyton was tired and very much near the end of labor.

"You're doing marvelously, Peyton." Doctor Byrnes said. "The baby's head is crowning and all I need from you now is one more big push to deliver this baby."

Jake kissed Peyton's head and said, "You're almost done, baby. Just one more push. You can do it."

Squeezing Jake's hand and dripping with sweat, Peyton lifted her head from her pillow and pushed hard once again.

"That's it Peyton…" Doctor Byrnes said as a nurse stepped up next to him with a towel, " keep going…you're almost there…yes!"

Peyton felt the baby leave her body and she rested back on her pillow and smiled at the sound of the baby's crying. Docotr Byrnes held the screaming baby up and said, "Congratulations mom and dad, you have a beautiful baby girl!"

Peyton smiled and Jake kissed her head with tears in her eyes and the nurse carried the baby over to clean her up.

"I'm so proud of you, baby." Jake said, sniffling.

Peyton touched his face before kissing him.

"I love you." She said.

"I love you too."

"Hey dad," a nurse called out to Jake, "would you like to cut the cord?"

Jake nodded his head and walked over to his baby. The brown eyed, soft haired baby girl was still screaming as he cut the umbilical cord. After he finished, Jake stepped back and let the nurses finish cleaning his daughter. Once they had her wrapped tightly in a pink blanket, the nurses handed the newborn to Jake and he carried her over to Peyton and laid her in her arms. When he did, the baby finally stopped crying as she opened her eyes to Peyton.

"Wow, Jake, look at how beautiful she is." Peyton said sniffling.

"She's gorgeous." Jake agreed. "Look, she has Emma's eyes."

Peyton smiled and ran a finger over her daughter's soft head.

"She has the softest hair." She observed. " It's a little darker than Emma's as when she was born."

"Yeah," Jake agreed, " there's more of it too."

They watched their baby slowly fall asleep and Jake said, "She's asleep already."

"Yeah, well she's had a long day."

Jake laughed and said, " I think I'll go tell the girls they have a baby sister.

"Okay." Peyton said. " Bring them all back to the room after you tell them."

"I will. I love you."

"I love you too."

Jake left Peyton's room with a grin across his face. He had another little girl. Now he had the three most beautiful daughter's in the world. As he turned the corner, Jake saw his other two daughters waiting with his friends on the carpeted waiting area.

Jenny spotted him, smiled and ran to him. brooke followed her with Emma in her arms.

"Did mom have the baby?" Jenny asked excitedly as Nathan and Haley walked over curiously.

"Yep." Jake said, nodding.

Everyone anxiously waited for him to continue, but Brooke grew tired of waiting and she asked, "Well, what is it? A boy or a girl?"

"A brother or a sister?" Jenny wondered.

Jake smiled even wider as he answered, "It's a girl. She's seven pounds, eight ounces, 21 inches long and one of the most beautiful babies ever born."

"Yes!" Jenny squealed and Brooke, and Haley and Nathan smiled at each other.

Jenny reached for Emma from Brooke and when she had her in her arm, she bounced her up and down and said, "Guess what, Emma? We have a new baby sister!"

Emma smiled and at Jenny and repeated, "Baby sister?"

"Yeah."

While Jenny celebrated with Emma, Jake's friends hugged him and congratulated him and asked him about the baby.

"So who does she look most like?" Brooke asked, smiling.

"I think she looks a lot like both of us, a lot like Emma too. She has big beautiful blu eyes like Emma's and the cutest little nose and tiniest mouth, but a pretty loud cry."

His friends chuckled. And Jenny handed Emma to Jake and asked, "Can we see her and mom?"

"Yeah, she should be back in her room now. She'll want to see all of you. Come on."

Jake carried Emma down the hall with Jenny walking by his side. Brooke, Nathan and Haley followed.

Peyton still held the new baby in her arms when Jake opened the door. She looked up and smiled at him and her friends.

"Hey guys," she said, "c'mon in."

jake walked with Emma to one side of the bed and Jenny ran over to the other. Brooke, Nathan and Haley came closer to her and the baby. Jenny hugged Peyton then looked at her sleeping baby sister.

"Awe, she's so cute, Mom." She said.

"She's beautiful, Peyton." Brooke said as she carefully hugged her friend. "Congratulations."

"She's adorable." Haley said, moving closer to get a better look. "Look at how hard she is sleeping with that little tongue sticking out."

Peyton chuckled, "I know, I love it."

"Baby." Emma pointed.

"That's right, Emma." Jake said as he set Emma on the bed in in between Peyton's legs in front of her and the baby, "this is you baby sister. Can you give the baby a kiss?"

Everyone watched with smiles as Emma leaned forward and kissed her sisters head.

"Awe…"Haley chanted.

"Good job, Emma." Peyton said. "You're so sweet."

"Shh! Baby seepin." Emma said, holding up a finger to her mouth.

Everyone laughed and Nathan asked, "So do you guys have a name picked out yet?"

"Yes we do." Peyton said. "Everybody meet Riley Anna Jielgelski."

"Awe, I like that name, Mom." Jenny said. "Can I hold her, Mom?"

"Of course." Peyton replied. "Hold out your arms."

Jenny held her arms out and Peyton moved the baby to her arms. Riley made a tiny cry, but still remained asleep.

"There you go." Peyton said. " Remember, support her head."

Jenny smiled as she stared at her sleeping sister and she said, "Wow…she's so little. I'm your big sister Jenny, Riley. We're going to have a lot of fun together."

Jake sat on the edge of the bed and Peyton leaned in to him. He kissed her head. After a minute, Jenny handed the baby back to her mom, and Emma crawled into Jake's lap.

"Okay guys," Brooke said as she pulled a camera from her purse, "it's picture time. Jenny, why don't you sit on the bed next to your mom."

Jenny smiled and sat down next to Peyton and Brooke waited for them to get close and said, "Okay, everybody squished in tight?"

She held the camera up to her eye and said, "Okay guys, everybody say Happy Birthday Riley on the count of three. One…two…three…"

Peyton, Jake and Jenny smiled and said, "Happy birthday Riley!"

Brooke snapped the camera with a bright flash and afterwards said, "Great job guys."

Brooke set the camera on Peyton's side table and Haley said, "So three daughter's Jake. you're going to have your hands full."

"Nah," Jake replied with a smile, "I can handle it. I'm going to love it."


	30. Chapter 30: Baby Talk

**TWO WEEKS LATER**

"Mom, when are we leaving?" Andrew asked, standing in his parents bedroom doorway.

"In five minutes." Haley replied as she slowly stood from the bed. "Could you go help your brothers put their shoes on please?"

Andrew sighed and turned around and headed towards the living room. Haley followed, but turned right in the hallway and entered the bedroom that had previously been Cooper's. Over the last couple of weeks, Nathan and Haley had been moving Cooper and James into a bigger bedroom to share, and giving Andrew a room of his own. Now, Cooper's old bedroom, would soon become a nursery for the new baby. In the bedroom, Nathan was setting up paint pans. He was wearing old jeans and an old black tank top splashed in paint and a black baseball cap backwards on his head.

"Hey." Haley said when she entered. She laughed when she saw his hat and said, "You look so adorable with that hat backwards on your head."

Nathan stopped working, smiled and said, "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah…you look like Andrew."

"Thanks." Nathan said sarcastically before going back to pouring pink paint into the pan.

Haley chuckled again and said, "Well, I just wanted to let you know we're leaving. We'll probably be back in a few hours."

"Okay, but maybe you should leave the boys here while you shop."

"What? And let them have a paint war while you and Jake are trying to paint. I don't think so."

"Well, you know how all-over-the-place they can be when you take them shopping. Plus, you have a lot to shop for today, don't you?"

"I'll be okay with them. I promised them they could go and play in the kids area while we shop. Besides, Brooke and Peyton are coming too and they want to see Lilly too. peyton and Brooke can help me out if they get too wild."

"Okay. Just be careful. Don't get stressed out too much. It won't be good for you or the baby?"

Nathan rubbed Haley's stomach.

"We'll be fine." Haley said, putting her hand on Nathan's.

Nathan kissed his wife before kissing her stomach.

"So how's baby Riley sleeping?" Haley asked Peyton. She, Peyton, Brooke and the kids sat at three tables pushed together in Karen's Café. The kids colored while Haley, Peyton and Brooke talked.

"Oh, she's sleeping great…"Peyton replied as she lowered the infant back into the carseat after feeding her a bottle, "…during the day. But she loves being awake with mommy at night when mommy really needs her sleep."

Brooke and Haley both laughed. Karen walked over to the table and asked, "Is there room for one more?"

"Of course." Brooke said as she pulled out a chair and Karen sat down.

"So did you have a good time shopping?" Karen asked.

"Yeah, we did." Haley replied. "I had to buy a new stroller and car seat because the ones we used with the boys are so worn out and torn and stained that they look ten years old."

Peyton smiled and said, "Well, they almost are."

"What else did you get?" Karen wondered.

"Well, considering Nathan and I will have a little girl in a matter of months, I needed to buy a whole new wardrobe for the baby on top of sheets and crib liners."

"Yeah, but you totally had fun picking out those clothes." Brooke said, smiling.

"I did, I admit it." Haley smiled. "It's the first time I got to pick out outfits for my little girl."

"Well I guess you were pretty busy today." Karen said after a sip of coffee.

"I was. And I'm not even done yet. I have to shop again in a couple of weeks to buy the boys new clothes for school."

"I'm taking Jenny shopping for new clothes too after her registration." Peyton said as she helped Riley get her pacifier back in her mouth. " I can't believe she's starting Junior High already."

"That is weird." Brooke agreed.

"Wow, this year is going to be really expensive." Haley said, leaning back in her chair. "Neew bay things, maternity clothes, school clothes, school supplies…it's crazy."

"Yeah, well," Peyton said, " kids are expensive."

After working for two hours, Nathan and Jake had finally completed the paint job on the nursery.

"It looks great." Jake said as he and Nathan stepped back to admire their hard work. " I think Haley will like it."

"Definitely." Nathan agreed as he picked up a half full paint pan. " She'll love it. Hey, could you grab that other pan?"

"Sure." Jake said, picking up the pan and following Nathan out of the bedroom.

After leaving the paint pans on the back porch, the guys walked back inside to the kitchen.

"Would you like a beer or something?" Nathan offered, opening the refrigerator door.

"No beer thanks, but I'll take a Coke if you have one. I'm on baby suty tonight so Peyton can get some sleep."

Nathan pulled a beer out of the fridge for himself and handed Jake a Coke. They both sat down at the table and clicked open their cans.

"So have you guys adjusted to the new baby yet?" Natha nasked after a drink.

"Yeah, I think so." Jake replied. I mean, it's a little tough trying to handle two kids in diapers and making sure Jenny gets what she needs too, but we're handling everything okay. When I'm working during the week, Peyton takes care of the girls and on the weekends and at night I'll be Mr. Mom when she has work to do or just needs a break. Everything is working out great so far. Plus, we all just love having Riley here finally that it seems easier more often than it feels harder."

Nathan smiled and said, I'll bet. Haley and I can't ait for this new baby either. We're really excited."

"How about the boys? Are they looking forward to the baby too?"

"Well James definitely is. He's really looking forward to a sister. And Cooper doesn't really understand the whole baby concept yet, but he will. Right now, Haley and I are more concerned with Andrew. He doesn't want anything to do with getting ready for the baby."

"Why not?" Jake asked, setting his can back on the table.

"I don't know exactly, but Haley thinks it might be an attention thing because she's seen it happen with her brothers and sisters before. She thinks Andrew might be acting out on his brother and not getting involved with baby things is because he thinks there won't be any time left for him."

"That sounds pretty natural for a seven year old." Jake said. "So what are you guys going to do?"

"Well, we're going to try and talk to him and keep trying to get him involved with baby things. We just have to let him know that thre will always be time for him."

"Of course. I'm sure he'll feel different once he actually gets to meet his baby sister."

"Oh yeah, definitely. I mean, he felt sort of like this when we had Cooper too, but he wasn't being extra mean to James and he wasn't skulking around all the time like he is now. I guess we'll just have to work a little harder with him this time around."


	31. Chapter 31: Talking

"Thanks for helping me close up, Brooke." Karen said as she left the back room. " I really appreciate it."

"Of course, anytime." Brooke replied as she finished wiping down the counters. " Besides, Lilly won't leave until she finishes coloring that picture for you."

Brooke glanced at her daughter, who was coloring at a table nearby. Karen smiled and asked, "So would you like to finish off this pot of coffee with me?"

"Sure." Brooke climbed up on a stool. "Thanks."

Karen poured the rest of the hot coffee into two mugs and turned off the coffee maker. She set one mug in front of Brooke and walked around the counter and sat up on a stool next Brooke with her own mug. Brooke poured cream and sugar into her coffee as Karen sat next to her.

"So no plans with Mouth tonight?" Karen asked as she stirred cream and sugar into her own coffee.

"No." Brooke sighed. "Noelle is sick, so he had to stay home with her and take her to the doctor in the morning. But we are planning on having dinner and going to a movie on Saturday night."

"So I take it things are going well with you two?"

"Yeah, they are. We've been dating for a little over a month now and it feels really good, really right. I was afraid to trust my feelings at first because I felt like I was betraying Lucas, but Haley and Peyton helped me see that this is something he would want me to do. He would want me to move on in this way."

"Well they were right," Karen agreed, thinking of her son for a moment, "Lucas wouldn't want you to be alone. He'd be happy that you and Mouth found each other. As long as you are happy?"

"I am." Brooke replied, with a wide grin. "I am very happy."

"We're home." Haley said as Andrew pushed open the front door and walked inside with his brothers.

Nathan entered the living room as Haley walked inside carrying three bulging shopping bags. He furrowed his brows as he rushed over to take the bags from her.

"Haley," he said concernedly, "you're almost six months pregnant. You shouldn't be carrying heavy stuff like this."

He set the large bags on the floor as Haley returned with, "Nathan, I am very well aware of just how pregnant I am, but the bags weren't going to walk inside on their own."

Nathan sighed and Haley said, "I'm sorry. I'm a bit cranky today. I'm tired and my back is killing me."

"Well come and sit down then." Nathan said, coming closer to her.

"Actually, I think I'll go take a bath and have a nap. Could you help the boys put their new school clothes and supplies away?"

"Of course. You just go relax."

Haley smiled and kissed Nathan before walking down the hall to the master bedroom.

"Hey Dad, look," Andrew said, pulling a black book bag from a big paper bag, "I found the coolest Steelers book bag for school. I had to get a real cool book bag for second grade."

"That looks awesome buddy." Nathan said as James ran over with his book bag.

"Look Dad," he said, "Mommy got me a Jimmy Neutron bag! It's so cool."

"Jimmy Neutron is so stupid James." Andrew taunted. "That show is for babies."

"Is not! You're stupid Andrew!"

"Hey guys," Nathan interrupted, "that's enough. We don't call each other stupid. It's not nice."

"Fine." Andrew said before looking back at James and stating, "You're a dork then."

"Andrew Lucas!" Nathan said sternly. "Stop that right now! No calling each other names. Why do you have to be so mean to your brother all the time lately?"

"'Cause he is a pain."

"That's no excuse." Nathan said as he picked up the last big bag of clothes. "Sometimes I think you're a pain, but I still love you. Now both of you take your bags down to your rooms so we can put it all away."

Pouting, Andrew started dragging his bag down the hall and James followed happier with his bag. Nathan lifted Cooper's bag and said to Cooper, "C'mon pal, let's go put your stuff away."

"But I wanna watch Sponge bob." Cooper replied.

Nathan chuckled and said, "We can watch it in your room.""

"Yay!" Cooper raced down the hall.

"Thanks for taking me shopping today, Mom." Jenny said as Peyton pulled out of the Tree Hill Mall parking lot. " I had a lot of fun."

"I did too." Peyton replied with a smile. "And I wasn't about to pass up your dad's offer to watch your sisters all day. Now he should know how it feels to juggle both of them for the whole day."

Jenny chuckled and after a minute said, "Man, I can't believe I'm starting Junior High next week. Seventh grade is going to be awesome."

"Yep, you are about to start the best years of your life."

"Really?"

"Well, everybody says high school is supposed to be the best years of your life, but they weren't for me. But I really hope they are for you."

"How come they weren't for you?"

"For lots of reasons I guess. I was lonely a lot. My mom died when I was young and my dad had to travel a lot for work. And I had my friends…you know, Brooke, Lucas Nathan and Haley. But I just didn't enjoy school that much until I met you and your dad."

She smiled at Jenny and Jenny smiled back. Peyton continued, "You know your dad played basketball and I was a cheerleader, so we knew of each other a little. But we never really became friends until the open mic night at Karen's Café."

"What's an open mic night?"

"Oh, it's when people gather somewhere and anyone can showoff their talents by singing or playing piano or guitar or something. And your dad walked into the café carrying two things…a guitar case and you."

Jenny smiled again and Peyton went on to tell her about how she and Jake became really good friends and eventually fell in love. Jenny enjoyed the story and after Peyton finished, she said, "Wow, so you and dad are like high school sweethearts, huh?"

Peyton thought about the term before answering, "Yeah, I guess we are."

"So then high school can't be all that bad, right? You met dad and fell in love. And you are still friends with Brooke and Haley and Nathan. Maybe I'll make good friends like that too when I get to high school."

"Maybe you will. I hope you do."

"Goodnight boys," Haley said as she and Nathan left James and Cooper's bedroom, "sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite."

She closed the door and followed Nathan into Andrew's bedroom next door. He was lying in the top bunk of his black metal bunk bed, playing his game boy.

"Hey pal," Nathan said as he reached the bed, "are you ready for bed?"

"Yeah." Andrew replied as he turned off his game.

"Good. But before we tuck you in and turn out the lights, we want to talk to you about something."

"Uh, oh." Andrew returned. "Am I in trouble again?"

"No sweetie," Haley answered, "we just want to talk to you."

Nathan lifted his eldest son off the bed and sat him on the couch-like bottom. He and Haley sat on either side of him. They all stared at each other for a minute before Haley finally spoke.

"Honey," she started, "why are you so angry at everybody lately?"

"I'm not angry." Andrew replied innocently.

"Then how come you've been picking on your little brothers so much?" Nathan wondered.

"I don't know. They get on my nerves sometimes."

"Does it have anything to do with the baby?" Haley asked.

"No, I don't know. Maybe." Andrew looked down sullenly. "How come you guys gotta have another baby?"

Nathan and Haley glanced at each other, not really sure of how to respond.

"Well, because we love kids." Haley finally answered. "And we wanted to try and have a little girl, a little sister for you guys. And I grew up with a lot of brothers and sisters and your dad and I want to have a big family too."

"Why does it bother you so much, Andy?" Nathan wondered.

"'Cause the new baby is gonna take up lots of time just like James and Cooper do. Pretty soon you won't have any time or love left over for me and it won't be fair 'cause I was borned first."

"Andrew Lucas Scott," Haley said sternly, "what on earth made you think we wouldn't love you anywhere?"

"'Cause there is gonna be too many kids. And you don't hardly any time to play with us anyway. And when the new baby comes, you'll be all busy again and I'll have a sister who will probably get on my nerves like James and Cooper do now."

"Oh honey," Haley, said, putting an arm around her son, "just because we're having another baby doesn't mean we'll love you or your brothers any less."

"Yeah," Nathan agreed, "we'll always love you, all of you. Nothing can ever change that. There will always be enough love and time to go around. You know your mom and I may be busy sometimes, but we'll never be too busy for any of you."

"For real?"

Nathan and Haley both chuckled and Nathan said, "I promise."

"And do you know what's really cool about being the oldest?" Haley said and Andrew returned with, "What?"

"You get to do everything before your brothers and your sister will. And you get to be their big brother and watch out for them. You'll be like their big protector like my brothers were for my sisters and me. Doesn't that sound cool?"

"I don't know." Andrew answered, still unconvinced.

Nathan and Haley glanced at each other and Nathan tried again.

"You know Andy, having a baby sister isn't going to be the same as having brothers. Having a sister may be fun and sometimes she may get on your nerves like James and Cooper do. But she will always love you and look up to you, just like your brothers do now."

Andrew stared at his father curiously and asked, "But what about after we go to heaven like Uncle Lucas did? Will we still be brothers and love each other?"

Nathan thought of his dead brother and tiered up a little. He replied, "Yep, even then. Lucas was a great brother to me and I will always miss him and love him. Brothers are forever. There is no way anyone can change that."

Andrew smiled and Haley smiled at her husband. She rubbed his back and said to Andrew, "And you know we will always love you too."

"Okay," Andrew said with a cute little boy smile, "I believe you."

"So do you think you can be nicer to your brothers please?" Haley asked as she pushed back Andrew's straight, dark brown hair.

"I'll try, Mom. I promise."

Atta boy." Nathan said with a smile.

"Thanks, baby." Haley said. "I love you so much."

Andrew smiled and asked, "How much?"

"Too much to count." Haley said smiling.

"And I love you all the way to the sky and back down to the dirt." Andrew stated.

Nathan and Haley both laughed and hugged their son. Then Haley, said, "Okay, now it's time for bed."


	32. Chapter 32: Making Plans

"That movie was so sweet." Brooke said, holding Mouth's hand as they left the movie theater. "I love romantic comedies."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Mouth said.

"Didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did. But I enjoyed seeing you happy more." Mouth said with a smile as they stopped by his car.

Brooke smiled back and leaned up to kiss him. They kissed for a full minute and after they were finished, Mouth said, "Wow…that was incredible."

"There will be more of that with every sweet thing you say." Brooke smiled at Mouth seductively.

"Oh, well then I should mention how incredibly beautiful you are."

He kissed her and after they pulled away from each other, Brooke chuckled and said, "C'mon, let's go. It's chilly tonight."

It was a short drive from the movie theater to Brooke's home. Mouth walked Brooke to her door.

"So Mr. Charmer," Brooke said with another smile, "what do you have planned for next weekend?"

"That is a surprise." Mouth replied.

"I can't have just a little hint?" Brooke then kissed Mouth's neck, forcing a smile out of him.

"No, sorry. Next weekend is our two month anniversary and I want to surprise you."

Brooke sighed and said, "Oh, alright. I guess I can wait."

"You won't be disappointed. I promise."

"I'm sure I won't be."

Nathan entered the house to a dark living room. He closed and locked the front door before setting his black workbag next to the coat rack. He walked down the hall towards the light gleaming from his bedroom. He entered the room and found Haley asleep on the bed with a book on her stomach.

He smiled and moved over to the bed and climbed up next to her. Nathan moved the 101 Baby Names book from Haley's stomach and kissed her lips. Haley woke slowly after the kiss.

"Hey sweetie," she said groggily.

"You are so beautiful."

Haley laughed as she sat up and she said, "Are you kidding? Look at me, I'm huge."

"Nah, you're gorgeous."

"And you're a charmer."

She smiled and kissed her husband.

"So how'd the appointment go today?" Nathan asked as he leaned back against the headboard and cuddled with his wife.

"Great." Haley replied. "Doctor Tate says the baby is as healthy as she should be, which is good news. We scheduled my Cesarean today too."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yep. November twenty sixth."

"Wow, so we're going to have a Thanksgiving time baby." Nathan realized.

"Yeah, we are. And since November isn't too far way, Doctor Tate thinks I should take an early maternity leave so I am not faced with too much stress."

"I agree. I mean, I know how much you love your job Hales, I really think you ought to be careful and take the doctor's advice."

"Yeah, I know. I plan on taking her advice. But I don't want to just take an early maternity leave. I was thinking maybe I should take this year off from teaching."

Nathan looked at Haley curiously and she continued.

"I think I should take a break this year so I have more time to be a mom. We're going to have four kids before the end of this year and it's going to be a lot to handle. And I've been thinking a lot about what Andrew told us the other night. He's right. We don't have a lot of time to play with them and that really upsets me. I love our kids so much and I don't want to be at work with other people's kids more than I am at home with my own. I really think I need a break to spend more time with them and with you."

"Well if that's what you need, than you should do that. You deserve a break Haley. You work so hard at work and at home. Maybe you do need to spend more than a few months at home with your family."

"But do you think we'll be okay financially if I take a year off from work?" Haley asked worriedly.

"Yes, we'll be fine. We'll be more than okay."

Haley furrowed her brow and said, "You sound way to confident in that statement. What's going on?"

Nathan smiled and said, "I was promoted today."

Haley's jaw dropped and she said excitedly, "You were? Oh my gosh, Nathan, I didn't even know you were up for a promotion."

"Neither did I." Nathan chuckled. " I was totally shocked when my boss came in and told me that they wanted me to be the new Vice President of the department."

Haley looked shocked again. "Oh my gosh, Vice President? Nathan, that's—"

"A huge salary increase."

"Wow…this is amazing. Congratulations, honey. That is really good."

"Thanks."

They kissed and continued to cuddle.


	33. Chapter 33: Back to School

"Mommy, I'm so excited about going back to preschool today!" Lilly said excitedly as Brooke worked on her hair.

"I know you are sweetie," Brooke replied, " but I need you to hold still so I can fix your hair."

"Sorry, I'm just so glad James is gonna be in my class this year. We're gonna have so much fun."

"After the learning part is over right?" Brooke said as she placed a butterfly clip in her daughter's soft, silky brown hair.

"That part is fun too, Momma." Lilly replied.

"Well, you are all done and all ready to go, right?" Brooke stood up from her vanity seat.

"Yep, I just gotta get my book bag and put Bailey in her cage."

"Okay, you go get your bag and I'll put Bailey in her cage. Hurry up though, okay? Grandma and grandpa want us to stop by the café before I take you to school."

"Okay, Mommy."

Lilly ran from the bedroom and Brooke watched her with a smile on her face. Thinking of him, and as if he were standing next to her, she said, "She's really growing up, isn't she Luc?"

"Hurry up bud," Nathan said; stopping in Andrew's doorway, "you're going to be late for your first day."

"That's okay." Andrew replied as he finished tying his left shoe.

Nathan smiled and said, "You sound just like I did on the first day of school when I was younger. But you should enjoy school while it's fun."

"But it's not fun." Andrew said walking over to get his book bag. "It's only second grade."

"Well don't knock it 'til you've tried it. You might be surprised at how much fun you will have. Now come on, I have to get to work too."

Nathan and Andrew met Haley, James and Cooper in the living room.

"You all ready to go sweetie?" Haley asked as she put Cooper on the floor.

"I guess." Andrew sighed.

"I'm ready, Momma!" James said excitedly, jumping up and down.

"Me too!" Cooper squealed.

Nathan and Haley both chuckled and Nathan said, "Okay, let's get going."

"Are you sure I look okay, Mom?" Jenny asked as Jake controlled the vehicle on the path towards Tree Hill Middle School.

"You look great." Peyton chuckled. "I promise."

"Me petty too, Jen?" Emma asked, peering her head around her car seat to see Jenny in the back seat of the van.

Jenny smiled, leaned her chin on the back seat of the middle seat and replied, "Yes, you look absolutely beautiful darling."

"Here we are." Jake said as he pulled in front of the school and switched the gear to park, "Tree Hill Middle School. So are you nervous?"

"Nah," Jenny replied as she unbuckled her seat belt and grabbed her book bag and opened the sliding door. She stepped outside the van and continued, "The work shouldn't be too hard considering I get all A's. Plus, the guys should be much, much cuter."

Jake shot Jenny an anxious look, but before he could comment, Jenny was saying good-bye and closing the door.

"Thanks for the ride, love you, bye."

Peyton was trying to contain her desire to laugh as Jake directed his look of anxiety to her.

"Did she just—"

"Honey, face it," Peyton interrupted, "she's in middle school now. She's nearly thirteen. She is growing up."

Nathan entered his home and living room where Andrew was playing videogames with James. Both boys turned their heads and said, "Hi Dad!"

Andrew paused the game and he and his brother ran over to hug their father.

"Hey guys." Nathan said. "You sound like you had a good first day."

"I did, Dad." James said before returning to the couch.

"I did too, Dad." Andrew said. "Bryan, Kyle and Zack are all in my class! Second grade is gonna be so awesome!"

Andrew went back to his game and Nathan walked over to the counter that looked into the kitchen, where Haley was sitting on a bench, smiling at him. He hugged her and said, " I missed you today."

"Cooper and I missed you today too." Haley replied as they pulled out of the hug. "How was your first day as Vice President?"

"Busy." Nathan sighed. "But I'll get used to it. So what did you and Coop do today?"

"We spent the day with Karen, actually. We had lunch with her and then she did some shopping with us."

"Shopping, huh?" Nathan grinned. "And what exactly were you shopping for?"

Haley smiled with guilt and replied, "Okay, okay…I bought some more baby clothes. But I couldn't help myself. They were in the store and they were so adorable, I couldn't pass up the opportunity."

Nathan chuckled and said, " Well, are you at least going to show me what you got?"

Haley smiled again and dragged the bag from down the counter. Her smiled grew wider as she pulled from the bag, a little white wendsi with pink around the collar and bottom and around the sleeves. Also in pink, was the writing I love my Daddy.

"See how adorable this is?" Haley said as she placed the outfit across her stomach.

"You're right, that is adorable." Nathan said as he touched Haley's stomach. Haley heightened her neck for a kiss and Nathan gave in.

"Whoa," Haley stopped midway through the kiss and touched her stomach.

"What?" Nathan responded.

Haley smiled and moved his hand back to her stomach. After a few seconds, he felt with his hands what she had just felt.

"Whoa," Nathan said with a wide smile, "does she move like that a lot?"

"Well she isn't quite as active as the boys were, but when she is, she moves with full force. It keeps me up all night when she is active."

"Well if she's going to keep you up all night tonight, then maybe I can keep you company."

Haley smiled again and said, "Oh, well maybe you should."

She leaned up again and kissed him.


	34. Chapter 34: Not Again

"Brooke…" She can hear someone speaking to her in the distance. "Brooke…"

The voice is growing louder as she opens her eyes and lifts her head from the seat and looks over at him.

"Are you okay?" Her husband asks with a smile.

She yawns and then says, "Yeah…I think that movie tired me out."

"On top of your busy day?" Mouth chuckles.

She smiles and rubs her pregnant stomach and replies, "Yeah, it's not easy to handle a business, a house, two teenagers, a husband and be pregnant at the same time. I am exhausted."

"Well, I would be too." Mouth says, keeping his focus on the road ahead of him while she stares at him admiringly, still smiling.

Mouth glances at her, laughs and says, "What?"

"I love you so much." She responds.

"I love you too." He says and takes her hand in his and lifts it and kisses it.

They both return their attention ahead of them, but when they do, Brooke's smile fades. For at this stoplight, she notices a familiar, but unfriendly face in the car on the opposite side of the road. But she realizes who the person is behind that evil grin too late, for at the very instant of her realization, the light turns green and Mouth presses on the gas. At the very same time as Mouth presses on the gas, Dan forces his car through a red light and directly aims for the driver's side of their car.

"Mouth, no!" She hears herself scream before she is forced forward in her seat belt as the car crashes into something.

Her head is pounding…she is in so much pain. She wants to open her eyes, but they feel glued to her face by the moisture around her eyes. Finally, they flicker open. There is a bright light above her and she can see her friends all around her. Peyton and Jake are on her left and Haley and Nathan are on her right. Karen is standing directly across from her at the end of the bed. They all look so sad. What has happened? How did she get here?

She moves her hands slowly to her stomach and is suddenly aware of what is not there that should be. Her friends notice she is awake as she remembers the accident.

"The baby," she says and Karen moves up closer to Nathan and Haley, "where's the baby?"

She tries to sit up, but Peyton and Haley force her back down. She begins to panic.

"No, the baby! Where is she? And Mouth…oh God, where's Mouth? Is he okay?"

"Brooke, Brooke," Peyton says, trying to calm her, "relax, sweetie, it's okay."

She looks from Peyton and Jake to Nathan, Hale and Karen and lets herself calm down only slightly and she repeats herself.

"Where's the baby? Is she okay?"

"She's okay, Brooke." Haley answers. "She's in the NICU."

She lets out a sigh of relief before asking, "Okay, good. Now, where's Mouth?"

Her friends glance at each other again. They are frowning. Haley and Peyton have tears leaking now.

"Sweetie," Haley says through barely a whisper, "Mouth…"

Haley's tears become sobs and Nathan hugs her. She is growing even more scared now. Peyton speaks again.

"Brooke," she says as she takes her hand, "the driver who caused the accident hit the driver's side of your car and Mouth was hurt really, really bad."

"He's okay, right?" She can feel her own tears start to build up.

Peyton shakes her head and answers, "No, Brooke. His injuries were too severe. He didn't make it."

"No!" She screams." God, no! Not again…this can't be happening again…please no…

Startled and sweating, Brooke shot up in her bed. Not that nightmare…not again. That dream was the same dream she'd had five years ago…only then, it had been Lucas in the driver's seat and now it was Mouth. What did that mean exactly? How could this dream be haunting her again? Why was this dream haunting her again?

"Not again. I can't lose Mouth like that too. I love him. I can't lose him. Never."

She moved her hands to her face and let herself cry.

Brooke moved her fork back and forth across her plate like a child refusing to eat. She was still being haunted by that dream and it had depressed her all day.

"Brooke, are you okay?" Mouth asked, placing his hand on hers.

She looked up at him, gave a small smile and said, "I'm just not very hungry tonight. But this is all really beautiful. I can't believe you went to so much trouble for me."

"Yeah, well you are very special to me." Mouth said with a wide smile. "And tonight is supposed to be special, not just because it's our anniversary, but also because there is something I want to tell you."

Uh, oh, Brooke thought. She hoped he wasn't going to say something too nice to her when she had been thinking about letting him go ever since that dream.

"Mouth, you—

"Wait, please, just let me say what I want to say first. I've wanted to tell you for weeks, but decided to wait for a special night like this."

He took a deep breath, and then said, "I-I love you, Brooke."

All she could do was stare at him. I love you. Those were the three most feared words to her right now. Mostly because of that dream, but also because she felt the same for him. But she could not admit that to him. She had to keep herself from feeling it. She had to keep herself from loving him because she couldn't lose him."

"Brooke," Mouth said when he noticed her tears, "What's wrong?"

She moved her hand from underneath his, wiped her cheeks and said, ""I'm sorry, Mouth, but I, um, I have to go."

"Brooke, wait, I—

"I'm sorry," she repeated as she stood up and grabbed her purse, "I really am."

And she left through his front door; leaving Mouth alone by the candlelight dinner he'd set up for her.


	35. Chapter 35: The Way It Had To Be

**ONE WEEK LATER**

"Okay Brooke, I'm out of here." Kate said as she left the back area of the store.

"Alrighty, I'll see you tomorrow." Brooke replied.

Brooke turned around to straighten the back counter while Kate continued to the door. Peyton entered with the baby carrier and Haley, Lilly and James followed her inside.

"Hey Kate." Peyton greeted.

"Hey Peyton," Kate replied, "hey Haley."

She glanced over at Brooke, then back at Haley and Peyton and said, "It's a good thing you're here. Maybe you tow can get her to take a break. She's been working non stop all day."

"Thanks Kate." Haley said before Kate left out the door. They continued toward the counter and Lilly and James went running up to the counter.

"Hi Mommy!" Lilly said excitedly, running around the counter.

Brooke turned around and smiled as her daughter jumped into her arms.

"Hey baby," she said as she kissed her daughter's cheek. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Momma." Lilly replied.

"Did you have a good day at school?"

"Yeah, but me and James want to color. Can we go color in the back room?"

"Sure, go ahead." Brooke said as she put Lilly back on the ground. Lilly took James by the hand and ran to the back room.

"Thanks again for picking her up and bringing her by." Brooke leaned on the front counter.

"It's no problem," Haley replied, "anytime."

She and Peyton stared at Brooke until Brooke realized why they were staring like they were. She sighed and said, "Let me guess, Karen told you about Mouth and me, right? Well, I don't want to talk about it."

"Talk about what?" Peyton said. "Why you broke up with him?"

"Exactly."

"Why don't you want to talk about it?" Haley asked and waited thirty seconds before finishing, "Because you love him?"

Brooke stopped moving, but did not look up at her friends. But it didn't matter, they had figured her out. She wasn't surprised. Haley, Peyton and Karen always seemed to know more about her than she knew about herself.

"Brooke, what happened?" Peyton wondered. "Why did you break up with him if you love him?"

Brooke finally looked up at them, sighed and said, "It's complicated."

"Your feelings are always complicated, Brooke." Haley said. "And that's because you never talk about what you're feeling when it's something that is hurting you or scaring you. So what is it?"

Finally, Brooke gave in and told them about the dream. She remembered everything so vividly that it was easy to recall.

"I can't be with Mouth anymore because I don't want to lose him like I lost Lucas."

"Brooke, it was just a dream." Peyton said. "What you saw in that dream is very unlikely to happen."

"Actually, it is totally likely, Peyton. I had the same dream about Lucas, remember? Only that wasn't a dream. It really happened."

"But you don't know that it would happen again with Mouth." Haley said, "Sure, it's a possibility, but the chances are slim. And you shouldn't let a dream hold your feelings back. If you want to be with Mouth, you should be with him. If you love Mouth, you should tell him."

Brooke stared at her friends and thought about what they had said. They had good points, but nothing about what they said changed the fact that she was scared. She didn't want to go through something like that again. She couldn't lose somebody she loved like that again.

Brooke noticed a customer walk in and she quickly changed the subject.

"You know what, I can't really talk about this anymore right now. I need to get back to work."

**TWO WEEKS LATER**

"So Lil," Brooke said as she pushed an empty cart through a toy store with Lilly by her side, "What should we get James for his birthday?"

"Umm…" Lilly replied, "Well, he really wants a dog."

"Sorry, sweetie, that's a present Nathan and Haley have to handle if and when they think he can have a dog. So what toy do you think he would like?"

"Hmm…well, he likes baseball and games and…oh, an magic! He told me he wants me to get him a magic set so we can learn tricks and then play them on Andy and Coop."

Brooke chuckled and said, "Okay, let's go find a magic set."

They walked towards the back of the store and as they turned down an aisle of games, they came face to face with Mouth and Noelle.

"Noelle!" Lilly said excitedly and Noelle looked over and smiled at her.

"Hi Lilly!" She squealed as Lilly ran over to hug her while their parents' eyes remained locked together.

"Hey." Mouth finally spoke while the girls still giggled together.

"Hi." Brooke replied softly.

This meeting was definitely awkward. What was she supposed to say to him about how she left things with him? She surely could not tell him about the dream, otherwise he might try and convince her that it wouldn't come true, as Haley and Peyton had tried to do.

"So, um," Mouth spoke again, " I wanted to talk to you about what happened—

"Mouth, I'm sor—

No, I'm sorry. I understand why you ran out like you did. I understand you were afraid we were getting too close and that my saying I love you meant we were betraying Lucas or something. I understand that you don't share my feelings because you still love Lucas."

He was right. She did still love Lucas and she would always love him. But that dream had helped her realize how much she loved Mouth too. Yet, she could not admit that to him if she wanted to keep him in her life. She could never tell him she loved him, not if she didn't want to lose him. She could be a friend with him maybe, but she could never love him.

"Look Mouth," she finally spoke, "I still am sorry about how I left like I did. I should've called or something afterwards to explain. I don't want things to be weird between us every time we see each other."

"I don't either. So maybe we can agree to go back to being friends." Mouth glanced over at the kids, then back at Brooke and said, "At least for them."

She smiled and said, "I think you're right."

Well, since she could not have Mouth to love like her heart wanted her to; she could at least have him back as friend and only as a friend. That was the way it had to be.


	36. Chapter 36: Reflecting On Everything

"Hey Brooke," Haley said as she stood up from the couch, "could you help me get the cake ready?"

"Sure." Brooke replied as she too stood up.

They walked together towards the kitchen. Once they entered, Haley asked, "Could you get the ice cream out of the freezer?"

"Yep." Brooke answered, walking behind Haley to the refrigerator freezer. She pulled out two tubs and joined Haley at the island counter.

"Hey." She said with a smile. "Weren't we just here dishing out cake and ice cream for a three year old birthday party last month?"

Haley smiled and said, "I know. My baby boys are growing up so fast."

"Before you know it, we'll be back here celebrating your little girl's first birthday."

"Oh, I know. Speaking of parties, Nathan and I are having trouble deciding on a name for the baby, so my mom called me the other day and suggested I throw a naming shower like she did when she had the twins. I thought it was a good idea, so I'm going to throw a naming shower next month."

"Wow, that sounds interesting. But what is a naming shower." Brooke asked as she pulled an ice cream scoop from the drawer.

"It's sort of like a baby shower," Haley replied as she put the first of four candles on the cartoon cake, "only instead of bringing gifts, people bring names. I'll write down the names I like and then Nathan and I will choose the name we like the best."

"That's a good idea."

The friends continued preparing cake and ice cream. After putting the last candle on the cake, Haley looked up at Brooke. Brooke looked up with a smile. She noticed Haley's worried look and stopped smiling.

"What's wrong Hales?" She asked.

"Nothing." Haley replied quickly. "Or at least I hope nothing. You've been kind of quiet during most of the part and I was wondering if that was because you're angry at me for inviting Mouth and Noelle?"

"What? No, of course I'm not angry with you, Hales. Why would I be? It's your son's party. You're entitled to invite whoever you want. Besides, Mouth and I talked yesterday and decided we're going to go back to being just friends."

"Really? Well that's very mature of you…but is that what you really want?"

No, Brooke answered in her head. What I want is to be with him and love him. But a friendship was all she could have with Mouth now.

"Yes." Brooke answered out loud to Haley. "We were friends before, so there is no reason why we can't be again."

"I know, but you--

"Hales, I appreciate you trying to help me, but I'm okay. Really. Being friends is all I need right now. So can we just leave it at that? Please?"

Haley smiled understandingly and said, "Of course. It's just…I love you and I want to make sure you're happy. So if you ever need to talk about it, you know you can come to me."

"I know. Thanks. And I love you too."

"So did you have fun today, ladybug?" Brooke asked as she tucked Lilly into her bed.

"Yep." Lilly replied. "James was really glad we got him that magic set. And him and me and Noelle had lots of fun playing with it."

"Well, I'm glad you had a good time."

"Did you have a good time, Mommy?"

"Of course I did."

"Good, 'cause you deserve to have fun too. You been workin' too much and too hard."

"I'm sorry, baby. I didn't realize I was working so much."

"It's okay. I know it's 'cause you're sad."

Brooke started stroking her daughter's head and she said, "I'm not sad, sweetheart. What made you think I was sad?"

"'Cause Mouth never comes over anymore and you never go out with him. You laugh hardly ever now Mommy. Do you not like Mouth anymore?"

"No, I like him. It's just…it's complicated, sweetie."

"Is it because of my daddy?"

Brooke did not have a chance to answer because Lilly continued, "Daddy would want you to be happy, right Mom?"

"Yes." Brooke replied, looking surprised by this mature conversation with her five-year-old daughter.

"Did Mouth make you happy?"

Brooke thought a second, smiled and said, "Yes he did."

"And daddy like Mouth too right, he was friends with him?"

"Yes, they were good friends."

"So then he would be glad you and Mouth like each other and he wouldn't want you to be sad. I think daddy would be sad to see you so sad, Momma."

Brooke stared at her daughter. This was definitely the Lucas part of her. Brooke had no idea how to respond to Lilly. Partly, that was because she was still processing everything herself.

Lilly yawned and said, "I'm really tired now, Mom. Maybe we should sing now so I can go to sleep."

Brooke smiled and then she and her daughter sang the "Goodnight" song. After they finished the last chorus, Brooke kissed her daughter's head, turned out the lamp and left the bedroom. After that conversation with Lilly, Brooke could not wait to just sleep and reflect on everything.

Brooke walks around her store, making sure all the racks and shelves were straight and in order. She walks to the back of the store to check that the doors are locked. When she returns to the front, she finds Lucas sitting on top of the counter, smiling at her.

"Hey there, pretty girl." He says and she smiles back at him.

"Hey broody." She replies, walking closer to him. "I miss you."

"I know." Lucas says as he hugs her. After they pull away, he says, "But you have been busy."

"Me? Busy doing what?"

"Moving on with your life."

She smiles and he says, "I'm proud of you, by the way. You've been doing really well with your life. I am so, so happy that you've made your dreams come true. But you're not done yet, you know."

"What are you talking about?"

Lucas is silent a moment before he speaks in response, "Why are you running away from your feelings again, Brooke?"

Her smile fades and she turns away from him.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Luc."

"Yes you do, Brooke." He stands off the counter and turns her around to face him. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. You're hiding your feelings for Mouth because you're afraid of something. I don't get it though, Brooke. You were acting on your feelings for the last two and a half months and now, all of a sudden; you're running away from them. Why?"

Tears in her eyes, she tells him about the dream.

"I can't be with him, Luc. I can't…I just can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I love him!" She shouts, surprising herself. Lucas, however, is not surprised. He stares at her as she says more softly, "I love him, Luc. But I can't lose him."

"You won't lose him, Brooke. You and Mouth both have long lives left to live and you both need to live your lives together and without fear. You both have endured so much pain in your adult lives that you deserve each other. You both deserve too find so much happiness and enjoy it together. This is what I want for you, Brooke; I want you both to be happy. I wanted you and Mouth to find each other because you need each other. Don't be afraid of losing him, Brooke. Take every opportunity you have to love him. Take everyday to love him."

"But that dream, Lucas…that dream was awful. It's like Dan and that accident are still haunting me."

"So don't let him anymore. Just let him go, let them both go."

"But how do I--

"You'll figure it out. You always know what you need to do. I mean, you've come this far, right?"

He smiles at her and she smiles back. As he walks backwards, away from the counter, Lucas begins to fade and as he does, he says, "It's time to wake up now, Brooke. It's time for you to really wake up and fully live your life. Go after what you want, feel what your heart wants you to feel, and face your fears. And remember…I'm with you always and I love you forever."

Beep…beeps…beep. Brooke lifted her head from her pillow and turned off the alarm. She sat up, wide-awake from such a comforting and peaceful dream. She smiled at the realization that she would be okay…and so would Mouth.


	37. Chapter 37: Perspective

That dream visit from Lucas had put everything into perspective for Brooke. She understood now that she needed to live every opportunity in her life. But first she needed to figure out what was making her so afraid and fix it. And that meant she had to let go of that horrible dream and not let it haunt her anymore. But how was she supposed to do that?

Why had that similar dream come back now? What was it about the dream that scared her so much? She already knew she was afraid of ever losing Mouth. But she feared losing anyone she cared about. So what did it mean? There had to be something more specific to it. It had to resemble something. Brooke recalled the events in the dream over and over again the next days and weeks, the more she began to realize what it was she was truly afraid of.

Dan. He was her fear. What he did to Lucas was what had been haunting her all these years. And that dream was haunting her now because she was in love with someone again who loved her back. As she thought about this over and over again, Brooke soon came to realize that Dan and the dream had come to symbolize death and loss…her biggest fears.

And now it was time, as Lucas had told her, to "just let it go." Brooke needed to continue living her life and loving those in her life without fear. She did not want Dan to haunt her anymore. So now it all came down to realizing that Dan and that accident would haunt her no more.

"Thanks for watching the boys for us, Brooke." Haley said as she, Brooke and Nathan carried inside the last of the groceries.

"Yeah, we really appreciate it." Nathan added. "Today was the only day we could get to the store."

"Of course, anytime. They're in the backyard. Oh, and Peyton called and said her dad is taking Emma and Riley for the weekend, so she can come by early tomorrow and help you set up for the shower."

"Okay, thanks." Haley said as she pulled items from a brown paper bag.

"Are you and Lilly staying for dinner, Brooke?" Nathan asked, putting two gallons of milk in the refrigerator.

Brooke glanced at her watch before replying, "Thanks, but I actually have something I need to do. And I sort of need a favor from you."

Nathan and Haley both looked at her curiously and Brooke asked, "Can I leave Lilly here with you guys tonight?"

Her friends glanced at each other and Haley said to Brooke, "Of course. We love having her stay over any time. The boys do too."

"Thanks. I should probably get going now so I don't have to drive so late tonight."

Brooke grabbed her purse and keys from the counter and headed for the backdoor, but Nathan stopped her when he said, "Wait, Brooke, what's going on? Where are you going?"

Brooke smiled and said, "I can't tell you right now because I know you'll try and talk me out of it. And I really need to do this for myself and for Mouth…and for Lucas."

Nathan and Haley still stared at her curiously and Brooke sighed with a smile and continued, "Look, I'll be home in time for the party tomorrow. If you want, I'll call you when I'm done or stop by when I get back and I'll tell you everything. But you have to let me go now so I can get there and back in good time."

They watched as Brooke continued out the backdoor.

"What was that about?" Haley wondered, looking up at Nathan.

"I'm not sure exactly." Nathan said. "But I think it might have something to do with that dream she had…and maybe more, with Dan."

Brooke waited on the visitor's side of the visiting room in the North Carolina Prison. She was waiting for the police to bring Dan through the bars on the other side. While she waited anxiously, Brooke thought back to the last time she had decided to visit Dan. She had come for answers then, and now she was here to tell him she wasn't afraid of how he could hurt her anymore. She was here to see him and talk to him so she could finally let him and the accident go.

Finally, the guard returned with Dan. As he unlocked the gate, Brooke remembered the last time she'd been face to face with Dan. She had tried to find out if he had felt guilty at all for killing Lucas and Dan had shown no remorse. As Dan sat down on the other side of the window, Brooke wondered if the five years he had already spent in prison had changed him at all.

"Well, well, well…" Dan chanted shyly. "Long time no see, Brooke."

"I'd call that a blessing for me." Brooke replied. "Hell, it's a blessing for everyone in Tree Hill, probably for the state too. God knows everyone is much better off and happier without you."

"Right." Dan stated. "Well, if you love not seeing me all the time, then what brings you here now?"

"I have something I need to say to you."

"Oh, what this time princess?" Dan grinned again. "Lucas again? Awe…are you still hung up on him? Face it; he's been dead for five years. It's about time you get over him, don't you think?"

"Shut up!" Brooke said sternly through the black phone. "You're opinion and your thoughts are not what I am here for this time and I don't want to hear anything you have to say. I am here for me, to say what I need to say and then I don't want to hear from or see you again."

"So speak then."

Brooke thought about where to begin and when she figured it out, she spoke again, "What you did to Lucas changed my life forever, as well as the life of my daughter, his mother and everyone else he cared about. I loved him and I planned on spending the rest of my life with him. But then you took that all away because you felt like a cruise through the town after a few too many beers. And now you still act as if what happened, as if Lucas's death is the best thing that could've happened. Five years later and it still doesn't matter to you.

"Oh but let me tell you it matters to me. It took me years after Lucas's death to learn to live without him. And I'm still learning to do that; I'm still getting over that accident. And that's because you and it are still with me, still haunting me. But not after today. Not anymore. Lucas's spirit is still with me and knowing that has helped me realize that I have control of my life, not you and not that accident. I understand now that you cannot and will not hurt me or the people I love anymore. And I say that for me, not for you. I know you don't care about any of this, and it's a shame because you are going to spend the rest of your life a lonely, evil man. And nobody will care about you either. But I needed to do this for me and for Lucas, so that I can move on and so that I can finally let Lucas go so he can move on. I spoke not only for myself today, but for him too. And now I'm done. So goodbye Dan. Enjoy your miserable, lonely life in prison."

Brooke smirked at him this time, though, for once, he did not smile back, not even a grin. She laid the phone back on its cradle, stood up and walked away.


	38. Chapter 38: Baby Girl Scott

"So is Brooke going to show up at some point today?" Peyton asked Haley as she poured chips into a bowl in the kitchen.

"I assume do, considering we have her daughter." Haley replied.

"Where'd she go last night anyway?"

"She wouldn't say." Haley said as she held the backdoor open fro Peyton. "But Nathan thinks she went to see Dan."

They walked down the steps of the porch and Peyton set the bowl of chips and the bowl of dip on the table set up and she said as she did so, "What? That's crazy. Why would she go see him?"

"Think about it." Nathan joined in as he entered the back yard through the gate. "What did Brooke do when she had that dream five years ago? She went to Dan for answers about the accident. And seeing him, telling him how she felt, helped her move on, remember?"

"So if she did go to see Dan," Peyton continued, "what do you think she went to talk to him about this time?"

"Closure." Brooke said from the back porch. Her friends turned around and Brooke walked slowly off the porch. "Nathan's right…I did go to see Dan. I needed to see him and talk to him so I can let him and the accident go. Sorry I forgot to call."

"I think we'll forgive you if you tell us what happened." Haley said.

Brooke smiled and led her friends to the table and they all sat down. She told them about the advice Lucas had given her in her dream, as well as the conversation she'd had had with Lilly. She also explained how she'd figured out why that dream was still with her. And she told them what she had said to Dan.

"And now I feel like I'm starting all over." Brooke finished. "I feel happier now, more confident in everything."

"That's great, Brooke." Haley said with a smile.

"Yeah." Nathan agreed, also smiling. "I'm really proud of you. Lucas would be too."

Brooke smiled back and Peyton gave her a friendly squeeze.

"Okay Hales," Nathan said, holding Cooper in his arms as he, Keith and the boys and Lilly walked toward Haley, Brooke, Peyton, Karen and Deb in the middle of the yard, "we're going to take off now. We'll probably take the kids for pizza and then to the park."

"Okay, sweetie." Haley replied. "Have fun."

"I have my cell on, so call me if you need me at all."

"I'm fine, Nathan. Now go, get out of here so we can start this party."

Haley turned around in her chair when the guys and the kids walked away.

"What's he so worried about, Haley?" Deb wondered as she sat next to Karen with a drink in her hand. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong." Haley sighed. "He's just worried I'm going to go into labor while he's gone."

"You've only got a couple of weeks until your due date, right?" Peyton remembered.

"Yeah, but I started having contractions yesterday. He like started freaking out and wanted to rush me to the hospital. But the contractions weren't that strong and they still aren't. So I called my doctor and she said not to worry unless they get stronger and closer. If that happens, then I should go to the hospital. It's the same old routine as the last three times, I don't know why he freaks out every time."

"I think it's a father thing." Peyton said. "Jake did the same thing with Emma and Riley."

"Well, I'm pretty sure this little one is going to be different than the boys. I think she wants to wait and take her time entering the world, considering she's waited longer than the boys did."

Her friends chuckled and Peyton said, "So this is a naming shower right? Shouldn't we start presenting you with names and get this party started?"

"Yeah, I'm ready to hear what you got."

Her friends took turns presenting Haley with first name ideas. After Peyton, Deb and Karen, came Brooke's turn.

"Okay Hales," Brooke said, "I've been thinking a lot about a good name for this miracle baby of yours, but I couldn't come up with anything good enough. Then I realized whatever name you and Nate decide on is the perfect name for her. So instead of bringing you a name…"

Brooke reached around behind her seat and brought forth a pink and purple baby gift bag and she continued, "I brought you a gift."

She handed Haley the bag and Haley said, "Oh, Brooke, you didn't have to do this."

"Yes I did. I want the baby to have what's in there. So open it."

Haley smiled and pulled the tissue paper out. She then pulled from the bag, a soft, and light pink infant pajamas. On the front in white, silky cursive writing was: Mommy & Daddy's Little Miracle

"Oh Brooke…" Haley gasped, holding the clothing up for all to see. "This is so adorable."

"Wow Brooke," Peyton chimed in, "did you make that?"

"Yes I did." Brooke replied with a small smile. "I've been thinking for months about a really good design to kick off my new fashion line and miracle baby girl Scott inspired the very first design and product of my Two Hearts line for girls and infants."

"Brooke…" Haley said again. "I don't know what to say. This is the most adorable piece of infant clothing I've ever seen. It's so beautiful. Thank you so much."

She stood up to hug Brooke and after they finished, Brooke said, "Well, now you have something to bring her home from the hospital in."

Haley chuckled and said, "Yeah, great idea. Nathan's going to love this too."

After a few minutes, of talking about Brooke's plans for her new line, Haley announced, "Okay, I'm hungry. How about you guys? Are you ready to order some pizza?"

"Definitely." Peyton said.

Peyton stood up with Deb and Karen and headed toward the house. Brooke followed behind them but turned back around when Haley called her name.

"Um, Brooke…"

When Brooke turned around, Haley looked worried and had one hand on her stomach and the other on the back of the wooden chair and she was breathing deeply.

"Hales, what is it?" Brooke rushed back to her and the other three turned around too. "What's wrong?"

"I think we need to call Nathan. The baby is ready to join the party now."

"What? Are you sure?" Brooke asked, reaching for her cell.

"Oh yeah, pretty sure."

Peyton held on to Haley and she asked, "Are you having stronger contractions now?"

"Yep…that and my water just broke. Maybe baby girl Scott is just like her brothers after all."


	39. Chapter 39: I Love You

Brooke, Peyton and Karen waited in the maternity ward waiting room. Finally, Nathan, Keith and the kids came through the doors and around the corner to the waiting area.

"Brooke." Nathan said when he saw them waiting. Brooke stood up and he asked, "Where is she?"

"Room 304." Brooke replied as Lilly ran up to her and Brooke picked her up. "Your mom is in with her until you get there."

"Thanks." Nathan said, turning to run down the hallway. But Brooke called out to him again.

"Hey Nate," she shouted and Nathan stopped and turned. She finished with a smile, "Relax. You're having a baby."

Nathan smiled and continued down the hall.

"Auntie Peyton," James said walking closer to her and Brooke, "Is Momma havin' the baby now?"

"Pretty soon." Peyton replied with a smile.

Deb returned to the waiting room.

"How is she?" Karen wondered.

"She's doing good." Deb replied. "Doctor says she's moving along more quickly than anticipated. She's already at five centimeters. Both Haley and the baby are doing really well."

"That's good." Brooke said.

"So do Nathan and Haley need us to take the kids home, or what?" Keith asked.

"Actually, I told them I'd take the boys home with me so they're not bored and I'll bring them back after the baby is born."

"But I wanna stay until mom has the baby, grandma." Andrew said. "I wanna see her and my baby sister."

"Me too!" Cooper said. "I be big bwother."

"I know guys." Deb said. "And you will. But it could be late before the baby gets here. That's why mommy and daddy want me to take you home with me. But I promise to bring you back as soon as someone calls me with news that your sister has arrived."

"Hey guys, listen to your grandma." Brooke said as she knelt down in front of her nephews. "Lilly's going home with her grandma too. I promise to call you as soon as the baby gets here okay?"

"Okay." James agreed.

"Alright." Brooke said, smiling. "Now give your Aunt Brooke a big hug before you go."

They boys all hugged her at once before leaving with Deb. Then, Karen and Keith prepared to leave with Lilly.

"Mommy," Lilly said, looking up at Brooke, "will you call me too when my new cousin gets here?"

"Of course." Brooke said. "Now you be a good girl for grams and gramps, okay?"

"Okay, Momma. I love you."

"I love you too, baby."

After hugging her mother, Lilly left with Karen and Keith. Then, Brooke sat back down next to Peyton.

"Did you call Jake?" She asked.

"Yeah." Peyton replied. "He was going to pick Jenny up, but she wanted to stay at Rachel's for a sleep over tonight. He'll be here as soon as he drops off more stuff for her."

Brooke nodded and they remained quiet a few more minutes before Peyton spoke again.

"So now that you've gotten closure with Dan and the accident, what are you going to do about you and Mouth?"

Brooke smiled and said, "I'm not going to hide anymore."

She picked up her purse, looked at Peyton and said, "Would you mind if--

"Go on." Peyton interrupted, smiling. "I'll call you if I hear anything. You just go tell Mouth you love him."

Brooke smiled again, hugged her best friend and left the hospital, feeling more confident than ever before.

In the labor room, Nathan sat at Haley's side, stroking her head. "You doing okay?"

Haley smiled at him and squeezed his hand and said, "So far, so good. I'm so excited though. I can't wait to have our little girl here."

"I'm excited too." Nathan said with a smile. "I'm going to have a daughter. It's kind of a scary thought."

"Why? Because you've only ever had sons?"

"That and because one day she's going to be a teenager. And I remember us as teenagers. She's never dating, by the way."

"Eh, you'll change you're mind."

"No I won't. I'm serious. I'm not going to let her date because she's not getting married at 16 like we did."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"No, I didn't mean anything bad about it. Getting married young is working out for us. I'm just saying…she's never going to leave us for a guy."

Haley smiled and said, "Okay, let's not talk about this anymore, you're depressing me. It's cute how protective of her you are already. She is so going to love you."

Haley touched his cheek and he leaned over to kiss her lips. But their romantic moment was interrupted by another contraction and Nathan let Haley squeeze his hand. As the contraction ended, Haley's doctor entered.

"How're you doing Haley?" Doctor Tate asked, snapping on gloves.

"Oh, I'll feel better once the baby is out. So how much longer do you think?"

"Well, you've progressed fast." Doctor Tate said as she removed her gloves after examining Haley again. "You've gone from four centimeters to seven centimeters in an hour and a half. I'd say we'd have you in the operating room and ready to go within the next two to three hours. And once in there, it won't take long to get to the baby and deliver, so I think you can expect to have your little girl right around midnight tonight."

Nathan and Haley smiled at each other.

Brooke walked up three steps to the front door. She sighed and knocked. Not even thirty seconds later, Mouth had opened the door.

He smiled and said, "Hey Brooke, what are you--

Brooke interrupted him with a kiss. He gave in and they held the kiss a long time. When they finished, Mouth stared at Brooke with surprise and said, "Wow…that was incredible. But I don't understand. What-"

"I love you, Mouth."

Again, Mouth only stared with surprise. Brooke continued, "That's why I ran away from you the night you said that to me. I was afraid to love you because I was afraid of losing you like I lost Lucas. And I was afraid of losing you because I had this dream where we did love each other and then I lost you like I lost Lucas and I woke up and realized that I didn't want that to happen."

"So I broke up with you because I thought it would keep me from feeling pain again. But I was wrong because I've been hurting ever since I let you go. I have been in so much pain since the day I said goodbye to you and to us. And after some wise words from the two people I love very much, I realized that I need you Mouth…and I want you."

"Brooke, I…" Mouth shook his head and Brooke frowned.

She'd blown it. She was sure of it now. She'd waited too long. So before she could hear him tell her goodbye, before her heart could break again, she interrupted with, "It's okay, Mouth. You don't have to say anything. I understand."

Brooke turned to walk away, but Mouth grabbed her by the arm and she turned back and he kissed her. When he finished, he stared straight into her eyes, smiled and said, "You needed know explanation…and you talk way too much."

She smiled and they kissed again.


	40. Chapter 40: Complete

After tucking Cooper and James into their beds, Deb wandered back into the living room where Andrew was still awake.

"Where's grandpa Aaron, nanna?" He asked when he saw her.

"He has to work at the hospital all night tonight." Deb replied. After a minute, she noticed the sullen look on her grandson's face and asked, "What's the matter, bud? Are you worried about your mom?"

Andrew looked at Deb, nodded his head and said, "Last time mom had a baby, she didn't come home for a really long time."

"Oh, honey, that was different. Is that what you've been worried about all this time?"

Andrew nodded again and said, "I want mommy to come home right away. And I want my baby sister to be okay too."

"They will be okay, sweetie. Your mom's doctor told me herself. Your mom and the baby are very healthy and they'll be just fine. And you can see them both when I take you back to the hospital tomorrow."

Andrew smiled a small smile and then he spoke again, "Hey nana, do you know any good names for my baby sister? Mom and dad don't know any and when the baby gets here, she needs a name too."

"Yeah, it'd be pretty silly if we went around calling her baby all her life, huh?"

"Yeah." Andrew laughed. "So maybe we can think of a name and surprise mom and dad with it when we see them tomorrow."

"You know, that's be a very nice surprise. And I think your parents would really like that. So how about we make some hot cocoa and see what names we can find on the internet?"

Andrew nodded excitedly with a big smile and he followed Deb to the kitchen.

"That's it Hales," Nathan said as Haley squeezed his hand during another contraction, "just breath through it…it's almost over."

"God, Nathan," Haley said through pain and clenched teethe, "if you tell me to breathe one more time, I swear I'm going to smack you."

"Sorry." Nathan replied just before Haley loosened grip on his hand and relaxed.

Haley looked over at him and said, "No, I'm sorry. I know you're just trying to help me the best you can. It's just…these contractions get worse and worse every time."

"I understand. You know, if I could go through this for you, I would."

"Yeah, right." Haley smiled.

"No, I'm serious, Hales. I never want you to feel any more pain than you have to."

"Well sweetie, it's a little late now."

Nathan chuckled. Peyton laid her head on Jake's shoulder while they sat alone in the waiting room.

"This is kind of nice." She said as Jake leaned his head on hers, "just the two of us alone. I like the quiet."

"I do too." Jake replied. "I miss the girls though."

"So do I. We haven't seen them all weekend. It's kind of funny…Nathan and Haley are having a baby and we can't stop thinking about ours."

"I think that's a natural parent thing."

A few minutes later, Brooke returned to the waiting room…holding Mouth's hand.

"Hey guys." She said with a smile and Jake and Peyton looked up at them.

"Hey." Peyton said smiling. "You two look awfully happy. I take it you've made up?"

Brooke glanced at Mouth and said, "Oh yeah. This guy is one hell of a kisser."

Her friends chuckled and Mouth wrapped his arms around Brooke's waist as she said, "Yeah, we're okay now. I've got him back now and I'm not ever letting him go again."

"Ditto." Mouth said before kissing Brooke again.

"So any news yet?" Brooke asked when she'd finished kissing him.

"Maybe." Jake answered. "Here comes Nathan."

"Hey guys." Nathan said with a smile once he was closer. "They're taking Haley to the operating room now for the Cesarean, so we should have a baby really soon."

They all joined him in smiles and Nathan continued, "Well, I should get back down there, but I wanted to ask if someone could call my mom and let her know what's going on for me?"

"Sure." Brooke agreed. "I'll call for you."

"Thanks." Nathan said before walking away again.

"Good luck." Peyton shouted out to him.

"You're doing beautifully, Haley." Her doctor said as she operated on the other side of the curtain a little while later. "We're almost to the baby now."

"I can't believe this is going so well." Haley said to Nathan.

"You're feeling okay then?" Nathan asked, holding Haley's hand.

"Yeah, I'm feeling great. I'm just excited."

"Okay, Haley," Doctor Tate spoke again, "I can see the head now and you'll have your little girl in about thirty seconds."

Smiling again, Haley squeezed Nathan's hand harder and neither of them let go until they heard their baby screaming.

"Here she is, mommy and daddy." Doctor Tate said, holding the baby up.

"Is she okay?" Haley asked, crying.

"Oh yes, she's perfect." Dr. Tate said, handing the baby over to a nurse. "The nurses are going to get her all cleaned up for you and I'm going to close you up now."

Nathan kissed Haley's head and said with tears, "I'm so proud of you Haley. You did great."

Haley sniffled and said, "Thank you for her, Nathan. I love you so much."

Nathan kissed Haley and once finished, said, "I'm going to get pictures of her okay?"

"Okay. Give her a kiss for me."

"I will."

"I wonder who she's going to look like most." Brooke said while she sat in between Mouth and Peyton.

"Well let's see," Peyton said, "Andrew looks like Nathan, and James looks like Haley, and Cooper looks like Nathan I think its Haley's turn."

Everyone chuckled. On the opposite side of the waiting room, Nathan turned the corner into the waiting area, holding his baby in his arms.

"Look who's finally here."? He said, walking closer to his friends, who looked over at the sound of his voice. They stood up as he came closer. They smiled and admired the baby.

"Oh Nathan, she's gorgeous." Brooke said.

"She looks just like Haley, doesn't she?" Nathan said.

"Yeah." Peyton agreed. Then she ran her hand over the baby's hair and said, "I love this peach fuzz hair. It's so beautiful."

"You should see her eyes," Nathan said. "She has the brightest, most beautiful blue eyes…they're amazing. I love her already."

"How's Haley doing?" Mouth asked.

"Oh, she's doing great. She's exhausted, though. They probably have her back in the recovery room by now. She hasn't gotten to hold the baby yet, so I'm going to go back down there. Come with me, I'm sure she wants to see you."

"I'll meet you down there." Brooke said. "I promised your boys and Lilly I'd call them."

"They're probably asleep by now. It's after midnight."

"I know, but I promised. Your mom is still awake, I'm sure. You guys go on, I'll be right there in a few. Oh and Nathan…congratulations."

"I can't get over how beautiful she is." Haley said to Nathan as she held their daughter the following morning.

"I know. She's gorgeous." Nathan said, sitting next to Haley on the bed.

"She looks a lot like James, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, she does." Nathan smiled. He continued with, "You know, we can't keep calling her she and her and the baby. We need a name for her."

"I know." Haley sighed. "But, hey, we're half way there. She has a middle name and a last name. All we need now is a first name that fits well with Faith Scott."

"Knock, knock." Deb said at the door. "Can we come in?"

Haley and Nathan looked over at the door and smiled at their boys, smiling in the doorway.

"Hey guys." Haley said as Nathan stood off the bed. "Come on in and give me a hug and meet your new baby sister."

The boys ran over to the bed and Deb entered the room. Nathan lifted James onto the bed while Andrew kneeled on the chair next to the bed. Both boys hugged Haley while Nathan held Cooper.

"Oh I missed you guys so much." Haley said.

"We brought you flowers, Mommy." James said, holding the bouquet in front of her.

"Oh, they're beautiful, sweetheart. Thank you."

"Here, sweetie," Deb said, reaching for the flowers, "I'll put them on the table."

"So what do you guys think of your new sister?" Nathan asked. "Do you think she's cute?"

"I do, Dad." Cooper answered. "I big bwother now."

"She's really pretty, Mom." Andrew said, staring at his sister.

"Just like you." James added with a smile.

"Mommy," Andrew said, holding up a piece of pink folded construction paper. "Nana helped me make something for you and the baby."

On the front side of the paper, in silver glitter, were the words: **Welcome Sister…**

"That's beautiful, sweetie." Haley said. "That's a very nice present."

"Wait, there's more on the inside." Andrew said before revealing the sparkle on the inside, which spelled out: **Gracie Faith Scott **

"Me and nana looked at names on the computer last night and I picked out Gracie 'cause it sounds like a name you would like, Mom."

Haley smiled, and then kissed her son's head. "Thank you, baby. You're right, I do like that name."

She looked up at Nathan and said, "How about you, Dad? You like the name Gracie?"

Nathan smiled and said, "It's perfect. I think it fits just right."

They all looked back at the baby, who was now awake. Haley smiled again and said, "So we finally have a name for this little miracle. Gracie Faith Scott, seven pounds, seven ounces, 21 inches long. Born November 12, 2016 at 11:53 p.m. the most beautiful baby girl in the world, and she's all ours."

Haley looked around at her children, her husband and mother-in-law and felt happier than she had ever been before. Her family was complete.


	41. Chapter 41: About to Begin

**SIX WEEKS LATER**

"Mommy," Lilly said as she and Noelle climbed up on the stools in front of the kitchen counter, "when is everyone coming over for the party?"

"Not for a few hours, sweetie." Brooke replied as she leaned over the counter, her hand under her chin.

"Where'd my daddy go?" Noelle asked.

"He went to pick up a few things for the party."

"Mommy, is Santa still gonna come tonight even if we're having a party?"

"Of course." Brooke said happily as she stood back up straight. "He just won't come until you're asleep."

"So he won't forget me either, right?" Noelle said. "'Cause daddy said we're spending the night here tonight."

"Yep, and Santa will know where you are as long as you've been a good girl. Have you both been good girls?"

The girls smiled and nodded excitedly. Brooke giggled and said, "Okay, then Santa will be here tonight after you're asleep. Now, let's go get you two cleaned up and in your dresses."

"Okay," Jake said to Peyton as he sat his five-month-old daughter on her stomach on the floor of the living room, "Riley is bathed, changed, dressed and ready to go."

"Good." Peyton said in a frustrated tone as she struggled with pulling red velvet pants on her two year old. "Because Emma here, is refusing to let me get her dressed."

"No! No dress!" Emma whined, pushing away from Peyton with her feet.

"I am not loving these terrible twos." Peyton said as Jake sat on the other side of Emma on the couch.

"Here, let me help." Jake said as he sat on the couch next to Emma and sat her up on his lap.

"What's going on, baby?" He said to Emma. "Why won't you let momma dress you?"

Emma still fussed, but Jake managed to get the red velvet long sleeve shirt over her head.

"There we go, princess." Jake said, smiling. "You look so pretty. Now, can you let mommy finish getting you ready?"

"Otay."

Jake kissed her cheek and passed Emma over to Peyton, who then laid her back on the couch and began sliding the pants on her. As Peyton started putting white, lacey socks on Emma's feet, Jake said, "I'll go see if Jenny's ready yet."

Jake heard Riley coo as he stood up and he noticed her moving across the floor towards him. He smiled and said, "Peyton, look."

Peyton looked at the floor and noticed too. She smiled and said, "Oh my gosh, she's crawling."

Jake lifted Riley from the floor and said, "Almost six months old and crawling already. You're such a big girl."

He kissed Riley's cheek as Peyton said, "She's growing up way too soon."

"Okay, I'm ready, Daddy." Jenny said as she entered the room. Jake turned around and noticed how much older she looked in a black skirt and silver top with her hair curled and wrapped around her shoulders. She was wearing hoop earrings, a necklace and makeup.

"They're all growing up way too fast." He said.

"There we go, munchkin." Haley said as she laid Gracie, wrapped in a baby towel, on the changing table in the nursery after bathing her. "You are so beautiful." She said as she started to put a new diaper on her daughter.

The baby yawned and Haley smiled and said, "Oh, and you're so tired."

Haley continued dressing Gracie with a smile on her face. She pulled white baby tights on as Nathan and the boys entered the baby's room.

"We're ready to go to the party, Momma." James said and Haley looked over at them and smiled. Andrew was dressed in a beige sweater and black pants, James in a green sweater and beige pants, and Cooper in a red sweater with black pants. Andrew and Cooper's hair was slicked back, while James's blond remained dry and combed, as it was shorter than his brother's hair.

"Wow, you guys look so handsome." Haley said.

"Is Gracie ready yet, Mom?" Andrew asked.

"Almost." Haley replied as she slipped a red velvet infant dress with white, lacey ruffle, over the baby's head. "She just needs her black dress shoes and her diaper bag needs to be backed with her blanket, bottle and extra diapers."

"I'll do that." Nathan said walking over to Haley at the white changing table. "You go finish getting ready."

"Yeah, we'll help daddy, Momma." Cooper said.

"Okay." Haley said as Nathan lifted Gracie off the table and held her in his arms while he smiled and talked to her. "I just have to get dressed and I'll be ready. Oh, and her shoes are on the closet shelf."

Haley turned and left the room.

"I'll get her shoes, Dad." Andrew offered.

"And I'll get her blanket and diapers." James said. "And a toy, she needs her puppy dog I gave to her."

"I will get the diaper bag, Dad." Cooper said, running over to the closet with Andrew.

"Thanks guys." Nathan said as he helped push a pacifier into Gracie's mouth, stopping her fussiness. "You know, your mom and I are real proud of you for helping out with your sister."

"We like helping, Dad." James said, stuffing the blanket, diapers and toy into the pink bag.

"Yeah, it's fun."

Nathan smiled as he laid Gracie back on the table to put on her shoes and Andrew said, "Yeah, I like having a baby sister too. She cries a lot less than Cooper and James did."

Nathan chuckled and he and the boys finished getting Gracie ready.

"She looks so adorable in that, Hales." Brooke said as she, Haley and Peyton stood together in the living room of her house.

"Doesn't she though?" Haley said, smiling at a sleeping Gracie in her arms as she rocked back and forth. "My mom bought the whole outfit when she was here a few weeks ago. She bought the boys their outfits too after I told her about the Christmas photo tradition we started. She wanted to get something nice for all the kids since she and dad couldn't stay in town for Christmas this year."

"They all look so cute." Peyton said, also smiling as she held Riley on her hip. "I love seeing these cute little outfits on little persons. It makes me want another baby."

"Well Riley is still pretty little." Haley said. "And she looks adorable in that outfit. I love that green on her."

Brooke smiled at her friends and their babies and said, "I remember dressing Lilly into cute little dresses and outfits like those. I hope I can have another little one someday."

"Maybe you will." Mouth said from behind Brooke. Brooke smiled as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek. Haley and Peyton smiled at them too.

"Are you ready to take the photo?" Mouth asked.

"Now?" Brooke returned.

"Well, I thought we should take it before we eat and the little ones get messy faces and all that."

"Um, he's got a good point." Haley chuckled.

Brooke said, "Okay, let's gather the guys, the grandparents and the kids over by the big sofa."

Brooke and her family and friends gathered all together for the annual family Christmas photo. Each family stood grouped together and Mouth set the timer on the camera before rushing back to sit on the couch next to Brooke and Keith and Karen stood behind them, next to them, Deb and Aaron. Peyton and Jake, holding Emma and Riley, sat next to Brooke, and Nathan and Haley sat next to them, holding Gracie in between them. Andrew, James and Cooper sat Indian style at the feet of their parents, followed by Jenny sitting with her legs bent because of her skirt, at the feet of Jake and Peyton. Lilly and Noelle sat the same way, faces angled at each other, but looking at the camera. After a few pictures, the group broke apart for dinner.

After Christmas Eve dinner, everyone returned to the living room for the gift exchange.

"You guys go ahead and start opening presents. "Brooke said, moving the camera and stand out of the way. "I'm going to take the camera upstairs and get a few more presents I have for the kids."

Brooke took the camera upstairs to her bedroom. She put the camera on her dresser and she noticed a picture of her and Lucas, which Lucas had taken himself as they cuddled on the floor by the fireplace. She picked up the frame and remembered the last Christmas she spent with Lucas…

"Wow Lucas…it's beautiful." Brooke said as she admired the brand new camera she'd just removed from its box.

"I thought you'd like it." Lucas said as he cuddled with Brooke on the floor against the couch next to the Christmas tree and in front of the snapping fire in the fireplace. "I know how much you can't wait to take pictures of our little girl once she gets here, so I figured this would be the perfect present this year."

"It is perfect." Brooke said, smiling at her husband. "Thank you."

They both leaned in for a kiss. When they finished, Brooke said, "Okay, now it's your turn."

She reached under the tree and brought forth a flat present wrapped in red paper and a green bow. She handed it to Lucas and he removed the bow and ripped off the paper, revealing a black photo album. He flipped through the album and smiled at every page of him and Brooke and them with their friends. As he looked through it, Brooke said, "I thought it would be nice to have something to remember our life before the baby. And I thought we could make another one later to document our life with the baby."

Lucas looked up, smiled at her and said, "This is really great, babe. Thanks."

He leaned in to kiss her again, but Brooke pulling her face away interrupted their kiss.

"Whoa," she said, moving a hand to her stomach, "I think the baby just moved."

Lucas smiled and asked, "Is that the first time?"

Brooke smiled and nodded before they continued to cuddle. After a few minutes, Lucas spoke again.

"So listen, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about since we found out about the baby."

Brooke looked at him curiously as he continued, "I want you to always be happy, Brooke, no matter what."

"I am happy, Luc." She interrupted.

"I know. But just listen, okay? I need to know that if anything ever happens to me, you'll continue to live your life. I need to know that you'll find a way to be happy because you deserve all the happiness in the world and so does our daughter. Promise me that you'll love again, that you will find someone who will love you and our little girl like I love you."

"Lucas-"

"Brooke, please promise me. I need to know that you'll be okay. If you promise to love again if I die, I promise to be with you always."

Brooke smiled a small smile and said, "Okay…I promise."

He smiled back and said, "Thank you" before kissing her again.

Tears in her eyes, Brooke smiled as she set the picture frame back on her dresser.

"Brooke?" Mouth called from the doorway. "Are you okay?"

He walked closer to her as she turned and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just remembering Lucas. He would be really happy to know that we found each other. We would be really grateful to you for loving me as much as he did. And I'm grateful too."

Mouth smiled, hugged her and kissed her head. He said, "I know you miss him, Brooke. I miss him too. But it's going to be okay now, I promise. I'll always be with you, Brooke. I'll always love you."

"I know." Brooke said with a smile before they kissed again.

"So, the kids are pretty anxious to get their presents from you. Are you ready to come back down?" Mouth asked when they finished their kiss.

"Yeah. Let's go."

She grabbed the presents she'd come up for from off her bed and followed Mouth back downstairs to the living room. After everyone had finished exchanging and opening presents, Mouth announced that he had one last present for Brooke.

"Close your eyes." Mouth said to her with a smile. She did as he said and Nathan handed Mouth a small red box when Mouth motioned him for it. He knelt down on one knee, opened the ring box and said, "Okay Brooke, open your eyes."

Brooke opened her eyes and her jaw dropped when she saw the diamond he held in his hand.

"Oh my gosh…" She said, moving her hands to her face.

"Brooke, I love you." Mouth began. " I want to love you and be with you forever. And I want forever to start right now. You have been my good friend for a longtime and you have even grown to be my best friend. And I hope our friendship can grow even stronger and greater in our love for each other. Brooke Davis Scott, will you marry me?"

Tears sliding down her face, Brooke thought of the last memory of Lucas again and of what he had told her, what now felt like not so long ago.

"I want you to love again. I want you to find someone who will love you and our little girl like I love you."

As she stared at Mouth, Brooke realized she had finally found that person Lucas had wanted her to find. He loved her and Lilly and cared about them both. And she knew his love would grow and last forever for both her and Lilly, just as Lucas's would. So she smiled and answered softly, "Yes, Marvin McFadden, I will marry you."

Mouth grinned wider, stood up, slipped the ring on her finger, looked at her and kissed her. And as they kiss, their friends cheer and clap and whistle. Brooke smiles at Mouth after the kiss and hugs him. While holding him in the hug, she notices a bright light by the window near the tree. She squints her eyes and smiles when she recognizes the light as a familiar spirit, Lucas's spirit. The spirit smiles back at her and she hears an echo of "Always with you." Then, he blows her a kiss and disappears into a sparkle by the star of the Christmas tree.

Brooke's life with Lucas had come to an end now, but would remain a memory in her mind and heart, should she ever need to call back on them or him. But Brooke felt happy and content in knowing that a new life, a life with Mouth, was about to begin….

**So what did you all think? I hope you liked it. I have a sequel to this one in mind, invloving a wedding between Brooke and Mouth, but i still ahve to write it. i am currently finishing other fanfics. Anyway, please review..i really like the reviews cuz i like to know what readers think. thanks so muc hto those of you who do review. :) greatly appreciated.**


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